Workers at four Amazon warehouses in Southern California are on strike less than a week before Christmas.
The workers went on strike early Thursday morning, claiming Amazon refuses to recognize their union and negotiate fair contracts. Union officials proclaimed it "the largest strike against Amazon in U.S. history.”
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, representing 1.3 million workers across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, announced their members in Palmdale, Victorville, Industry and San Bernardino voted to authorize strikes. The move came after Amazon ignored a Sunday deadline to come to the bargaining table, according to the union.
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Amazon workers represented by the union went on strike at 3 a.m. and joined Amazon union workers across the country who also went on strike.
The strike comes with just days to go before Christmas as gifts are packed up and shipped throughout the country for the holiday. Amazon told NBCLA in an email that the company "not currently expecting a customer impact."
“The corporate elitists who run Amazon are leaving workers with no choice,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien said in a statement. “Greedy executives are pushing thousands of hardworking Americans to the brink. Amazon rakes in more money than anybody, they subject workers to injury and abuse at every turn, and they illegally claim not to be the rightful employer of nearly half their workforce.”
Eileen Hards of Amazon said in a statement that for more than a year, the Teamsters have continued to intentionally mislead the public -- claiming they represent "thousands of Amazon employees and drivers" when they don't.
“The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers to join them, which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labor practice charges against the union,'' Hards said.
The SoCal workers are joining employees who also recently authorized similar strikes at sites located in Illinois and New York City. Operations at the following Amazon facilities in California would be affected:
- DFX4 located at 15272 Bear Valley Road, Victorville
- DAX5 located at 15930 Valley Blvd., Industry
- DAX8 located at 600 W. Technology Drive, Palmdale
- KSBD air hub located at the San Bernardino International Airport
