NYPD Arrests Teamsters for ‘Disrupting Traffic’ During Historic Amazon Driver Strike

Amazon workers are striking crossed the country. The onslaught began astatine 7 transportation hubs connected Thursday and was organized by the Teamsters union. The Union says that it started the onslaught due to the fact that Amazon has refused to negociate with them. The cops were connected manus astatine respective locations to bust up the picket lines, apprehension striking drivers, and mostly marque definite that Christmas runs connected Amazon’s schedule.

In New York City the constabulary came retired successful unit to interruption up the picket lines, apprehension people, and support Amazon’s concern running.

Breaking: After hours of Amazon Teamsters maintaining a beardown picket line, cops broke the picket enactment for Amazon. pic.twitter.com/tO26JEZGdB

— Luis Feliz Leon (@Lfelizleon) December 19, 2024

The bosom of the contented is however Amazon treats its drivers. Being a transportation operator for Amazon sucks. The driver’s each determination is monitored by cameras and cataloged by draconian show metrics. It’s truthful demanding that drivers often don’t person clip to halt for a bath interruption and edifice to pissing and shitting successful bags.

Worse, Amazon drivers—who enactment successful Amazon-branded trucks and deterioration Amazon-branded outfits—aren’t considered employees by the company. Amazon’s stance has agelong been that the radical who marque Amazon’s transportation empire enactment are conscionable contractors moving for third-party companies that hap to bash concern with Amazon.

https://x.com/alexnpress/status/1869748144483054057

Conditions are atrocious and the strikes person been gathering for a while. The Teamsters person been moving with drivers astatine respective of the third-party contracting companies to signifier a national for a while, and Amazon has severed ties with the contractors successful retaliation. In October, the National Labor Relations Board successful Los Angeles issued a ceremonial ailment against Amazon implicit how it handles drivers.

“Today, Teamsters from seashore to seashore launched the largest onslaught against Amazon successful American history. Momentum continues to equine arsenic much workers combat for just attraction from this $2 trillion corporation,” the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said successful a station connected X connected Thursday. “The Amazon Teamsters question grows bigger and stronger each time and volition not beryllium stopped.”

In NYC, the cops locked arms to disrupt the picket lines and let Amazon’s transportation trucks to permission the warehouse. They besides arrested a operator and a teamster organizer during the protest. The charge? Disrupting traffic.

NYPD virtually locking arms to support Amazon’s operations lol pic.twitter.com/BcKxrkaCoG

— Alex Press (@alexnpress) December 19, 2024

Strikes successful different cities, including Dallas, Fall River, Massachusetts, and Imperial, Pennsylvania were much sedate.

Amazon Teamsters are launching what they telephone “the largest onslaught against Amazon successful U.S. history,” including astatine the Johnston and Fall River sites. They accidental the nationwide onslaught started astatine 6 a.m. this morning. We’ll person much details connected @NBC10 astatine noon. pic.twitter.com/J9bdeEcAfO

— Temi-Tope Adeleye (@TemiTopereports) December 19, 2024

AMAZON STRIKES IN LAKELAND: Amazon workers are striking astatine aggregate transportation hubs. Here’s what you should cognize https://t.co/jvGcOcHF4C pic.twitter.com/urTanEcMdD

— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) December 20, 2024

Local national workers person blocked @amazon trucks from entering Imperial, PA facility. Local 249 caput besides tells maine w/ them striking here, transportation drivers for a assortment of shipping companies volition not beryllium crossing the picket line, truthful they could beryllium impacted by this strike@KDKA pic.twitter.com/MdduZP6Zv0

— Lauren Linder (@lauren_linder) December 19, 2024

Amazon seems assured that this volition each magnitude to nothing. It besides claims that the Teamsters are outside agitators and doubled down connected the assertion that its drivers aren’t employees astatine all.

“Thankfully, the immense bulk of our employees and the drivers who present connected our behalf came to enactment contiguous to bash what they bash each day,” Amazon’s Kelly Nantel, manager of Global Corporate Issues and Media Relations, told ABC News. “They’re doing a large occupation of moving for their customers and their communities and arsenic a effect of their hard work.”

“It doesn’t consciousness similar a occupation that should beryllium legal,” Riley Holzworth, an Amazon transportation operator successful Illinois told Labornotes. “I’ve had a batch of antithetic jobs successful this industry, and this 1 by acold feels similar my leader is truly getting distant with a lot.”