Amazon workers to strike in US during busy Christmas season
Al Jazeera
Teamsters union says workers in New York, Atlanta and San Francisco to walk off the job over pay and conditions.
Thousands of Amazon employees in the United States are set to go on strike during the busy Christmas period after union officials accused the retailer of refusing to enter negotiations for better pay and conditions.
The Teamsters union said on Wednesday that warehouse workers would join the picket line in cities including New York, Atlanta and San Francisco from 6am Eastern Time (11:00 GMT) on Thursday in the largest strike against the company in US history.
“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. They ignored it,” Teamsters General President Sean M O’Brien said in a statement.
“These greedy executives had every chance to show decency and respect for the people who make their obscene profits possible. Instead, they’ve pushed workers to the limit and now they’re paying the price. This strike is on them.”
Teamsters, one of the biggest unions in North America, claims to represent about 10,000 Amazon workers among the retail giant’s roughly 800,000-strong US workforce.
