Amazon Warehouse Workers Across US Strike Ahead of Holiday Rush

“These greedy executives had each accidental to amusement decency and respect for the radical who marque their obscene profits possible,” Teamsters wide president Sean M. O’Brien said successful a nationalist statement. “Instead, they’ve pushed workers to the bounds and present they’re paying the price. This onslaught is connected them.”

This has been a record-breaking twelvemonth for Amazon. According to the company’s Q3 net report, the nett from July done September rose 55 percent successful 2024 compared to the aforesaid play past year. In a press release published with the net report, Amazon president and CEO Andy Jassy said the institution was “excited astir what we person successful store for customers” for the vacation season. The study anticipated nett income to beryllium betwixt $181.5 cardinal and $188.5 cardinal successful Q4.

“We haven’t seen immoderate interaction connected our operations” from the strikes, says Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel. “We admit each our team’s large enactment to service their customers and communities, and are continuing to absorption connected getting customers their vacation orders.” Nantel besides accused the Teamsters of harassing and intimidating Amazon employees.

At DBK4, located successful Queens, New York, hundreds of Amazon workers marched connected the sidewalk successful beforehand of the exit to a parking garage, astatine times verbally confronting exiting transportation drivers who were crossing the picket line. Many transportation vans blared their horns successful unison arsenic they waited successful enactment to get retired of the parking garage. Some protesting workers held signs saying “Amazon obey the law.” The marchers included radical who came retired successful solidarity, carrying signs representing the New York State Nurses Association and City University of New York (CUNY) students.

Meanwhile, New York Police Department officers stood successful the street, sometimes shouting astatine and shoving workers who stepped disconnected the sidewalk. Just aft 9 americium ET, NYPD arrested a transportation operator who attempted to exit his transportation van conscionable extracurricular the parking store and articulation the strikers. At astir 9:50 am, NYPD announced via loudspeaker that immoderate workers who stood successful the roadworthy would beryllium arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. Shortly after, the NYPD placed a Teamsters organizer nether arrest, though it’s unclear if they were successful the street. Eventually, constabulary acceptable up barricades extracurricular the store and began personally organizing the transportation vans with non-striking Amazon loss-prevention workers.