Amazon is experiencing the largest strike in the company’s history, with warehouse workers and delivery drivers at seven of its facilities in major metropolitan areas including San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Southern California and New York.The Union Teamsters announced that it has also authorized a strike at the JFK8 distribution center in Staten Island and that workers there will be able to join the strike. Here are the details and what you need to know…
Tensions rise between the union and Amazon
The striking five delivery stations and two distribution centers are demanding union recognition and bargaining with majority support. The Teamsters have given Amazon until December 15th, or they will go on strike. Amazon has not responded to these calls in any way.
At the DBK4 distribution station in Queens, New York, an Amazon driver was arrested by police when he stopped his vehicle in support of the strike. Police had already taken precautions for a possible strike at the JFK8 center in Staten Island. Nevertheless, strikers slowed traffic flow out of the facility for six hours, allowing only one truck to pass every two minutes.
The Teamsters are committed to the effort to organize Amazon and have allocated $8 million to the project. The union’s $300 million strike fund is also supporting these efforts.
Seasonal employees hired with accelerated training during the holiday period can cause accidents due to inexperience. During this period, injury rates at Amazon were well above the industry average. During Prime Day in 2019, the rate of reportable injuries rose to over 10 per 100 employees per year, more than double the industry average…
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