Amazon workers at two New York City warehouses, both critical to delivering holiday goods across the Big Apple, are prepared to go on strike if the e-commerce giant doesn't agree to a date for contract negotiations. he suggested.
The Teamsters union represents Amazon employees at the Staten Island fulfillment center known as JFK8, which employs 5,500 workers, and the Queens last-mile delivery station known as DBK4.
According to news reports on Dec. 14, workers at both facilities voted Friday to authorize a strike if Sunday's bargaining deadline passes without a resolution. post By the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
The Teamsters have not released a statement after Sunday's deadline and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The Amazon Teamsters at two New York City facilities, JFK8 and DBK4, have been overwhelmed after Amazon illegally refused to recognize their union and negotiate a contract that addressed the company's low wages and unsafe working conditions. voted by a majority to authorize a strike,” the Teamsters wrote in Friday's X.
Amazon claims its union does not represent the “thousands” of employees and drivers it claims.
“The truth is that the Teamsters were actively trying to intimidate, intimidate, and coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers into participating, which is illegal and requires multiple actions against the union. “We are the subject of pending unfair labor practice charges,” Amazon spokeswoman Eileen said. Haas said in a statement.
The Teamsters are attempting to organize Amazon nationwide, and say they have breached a total of 10 facilities.
Teamsters President Sean O'Brien “We are clear: Amazon must come to the table and negotiate a contract by December 15th. If these white-collar criminals want to continue breaking the law, we must be ready to fight. It would be better to do so.”
Meanwhile, a scathing Congressional report on worker safety issues at Amazon was released on Sunday.
A Congressional study led by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), found that the number of injuries at Amazon facilities in 2023 will be the industry average. It turned out to be 30% more than that. All those workplaces.
The 160-page report also revealed that Amazon is suspected of “selecting” and “manipulating” its own data to make its warehouses appear safer than they really are.
The report said Amazon employees are pressured to work at an “extremely fast and often dangerous pace.”
The online giant also rejected the Congressional report's findings in 2,394 words. response The report and Sanders claimed it was “factually incorrect” and relied on “outdated information that lacks context and is not based in reality.”
Amazon said it had reduced injury rates while increasing delivery speeds, adding that it cooperated with committee members as they conducted their investigation.
The HELP committee said it interviewed more than 130 Amazon employees, met with nearly 500 employees and shared 1,400 documents with lawmakers.
Meanwhile, Amazon says it has “produced thousands of documents” on behalf of committee members, but the report says that Amazon has produced a quarter of the documents the committee requested during its 18-month investigation. , that is, only 285 files were created.
The report alleges that Amazon's management has given orders to its employees, including to “keep the line running at all costs,” including one woman who was forced to run on a conveyor belt. This includes an incident in which the manager did not press the “stop'' button even though the employee had “fainted''. ” button.
The report's findings come from Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration, which filed a complaint in 2022 alleging that pregnant women and disabled workers were exposed to harsh physical work conditions that made them vulnerable to injury. It echoes other state and federal claims about difficult working conditions at Amazon, including . .
In 2021, Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos wrote a letter to shareholders upon stepping down from leadership, stating that Amazon is the “best employer” and “the safest.” I promised that it would become my workplace.
Mr. Bezos' letter was written after a painful and high-profile attempt to organize Amazon's Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse failed.
