(The Lion) — Gifts ordered on Amazon to arrive before Christmas may face delays after the International Brotherhood of Teamsters declared a strike, beginning Thursday, against the retail and technology company.
Teamsters estimates 10,000 workers have joined the union, which if true, is a very small percentage of the more than one million employees at Amazon, Axios reported.
An Amazon spokesperson told The Lion the move by the labor union is a “PR play” and “illegal.”
“There are a lot of nuances here but I want to be clear, there have been no elections, no bargaining orders, no ULP decisions directing bargaining,” Mackenzie Lambert wrote in an email to The Lion. “This entire narrative is a PR play and the Teamsters’ conduct this past year, and this week, is illegal. We haven’t see any impact on our operations.”
The strike comes at Amazon’s busiest time of the year, and Teamsters President Sean O’Brien hopes the strike will disrupt the delivery of last-minute Christmas gifts millions of Americans are eagerly awaiting.
“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed. We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members,” said Teamsters President Sean O’Brien in a statement. “They ignored it.”
Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel told The Lion Amazon employees have always had the choice to join a union but the vast majority don’t.
“For more than a year now, the Teamsters have continued to intentionally mislead the public – claiming that they represent ‘thousands of Amazon employees and drivers’. They don’t, and this is another attempt to push a false narrative,” Nantel said. “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.
“What you see here are almost entirely outsiders – not Amazon employees or partners – and the suggestion otherwise is just another lie from the Teamsters. The truth is that they were unable to get enough support from our employees and partners and have brought in outsiders to come and harass and intimidate our team, which is inappropriate and dangerous.”
Walkouts were set to begin at seven facilities on Thursday morning, including in New York City, Atlanta and California, Axios reported.
