Thousands of Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses

Thousands of Amazon workers are set to walk off the job on Thursday morning, disrupting operations in the critical final days of the holiday season.

Union officials say the retailer has failed to engage in contract negotiations, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

The strike is a challenge to Amazon's operations as it races to fulfill orders during its busiest season of the year, although union-represented facilities represent only about 1% of Amazon's hourly workforce. In the New York City area, for example, the company has multiple warehouses and smaller delivery depots.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters said unionized workers at facilities in New York City; Skokie, Illinois; Atlanta, San Francisco and southern California will join the picket line to seek contracts guaranteeing better wages and work conditions.

The Teamsters union has said it represents about 10,000 workers at 10 of the company's U.S. facilities. Workers at seven of those facilities will walk out on Thursday, the Teamsters said.

An Amazon spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

The union had given Amazon a deadline of Sunday to begin negotiations, and workers at facilities voted recently to authorize a strike.

Teamsters local unions are also putting up picket lines at hundreds of Amazon Fulfillment Centers nationwide, the union said in a statement on Wednesday.

Observers said Amazon is unlikely to come to the table to bargain, calculating it could open the door to additional union actions.

In recent years, Amazon.com has faced worker walkouts in Spain and Germany, among other regions, over pay and working conditions.

As the world's second-largest private employer after Walmart , Amazon has long been a target for unions. Some workers have said Amazon's emphasis on greater speed and efficiency can lead to injuries, while Amazon has said it pays industry-leading wages and regularly introduces automation designed to reduce repetitive stress.

The company will face other union actions in the months ahead. Workers at a Philadelphia Whole Foods in November filed to hold a union election, the first since Amazon acquired the grocery chain in 2017.

Last month, an administrative judge ordered a third union election at an Alabama warehouse after ruling Amazon had acted unlawfully to thwart unionization there.

Earlier this year, Amazon announced a $2.1 billion investment to raise pay for fulfillment and transportation employees in the U.S., increasing base wages for employees by at least $1.50 to around $22 per hour, a roughly 7% increase.

News.Az