Amazon Teamsters in NYC have voted to authorize a strike

Workers astatine a Staten Island, New York Amazon warehouse voted connected Friday to authorize a onslaught if the institution doesn’t hold to acceptable dates for declaration negotiations. The workers are asking Amazon to admit the national and bargain for safer moving conditions and amended wages, threatening the anticipation of a onslaught during 1 of Amazon’s busiest times of the year.

Teamsters wide president Sean O’Brien says successful a property release that Amazon indispensable hold to bargaining dates by December 15th, which passed yesterday. If Amazon hasn’t agreed, it risks facing a onslaught by the much than 5,500 workers astatine its Staten Island (JFK8) fulfillment center. Delivery drivers astatine a Queens (DBK4) last-mile transportation presumption besides voted to authorize a strike.

“This is my 3rd vacation I’m giving to Amazon,” a idiosyncratic named James said successful a video published Friday by labour nonprofit More Perfect Union. “I haven’t been astir for Thanksgiving oregon Christmas. It’s changeless speed-up for the holidays. It’s similar doubly arsenic dangerous, I would say.”

A recently published US Senate Committee report says that, based connected an probe of Amazon’s records, the company’s warehouse wounded rates were “more than 1.8 times that of different companies successful each of the past 7 years,” according to The New York Times. Senator Bernie Sanders, who chairs the committee, said “Amazon’s executives repeatedly chose to enactment profits up of the wellness and information of its workers by ignoring recommendations that would substantially trim injuries.”

In a connection emailed to The Verge, Amazon spokesperson Eileen Hards accused the Teamsters national of “intentionally” misleading claims that it represents thousands of Amazon employees and drivers.

Hards didn’t instantly respond erstwhile we asked which charges she was referring to. Conversely, successful 2022, the National Labor Relations Board alleged that Amazon itself “repeatedly broke the instrumentality by threatening, surveilling, and interrogating” Staten Island workers who were attempting to unionize.

Workers astatine the Staten Island warehouse voted to unionize successful 2022 and joined Teamsters, 1 of the largest US labour unions, successful June, followed by drivers moving retired of the Queens installation successful September. Amazon hasn’t recognized those unions. As of this writing, the Teamsters hasn’t announced an progressive onslaught connected its X account, its Facebook page, oregon its site.