US: Amazon workers are threatening strike amid peak holiday season
What's the story
Thousands of Amazon employees are threatening to go on strike after a deadline for contract negotiations passed.
The strike threats, which started in New York, have now spread to Chicago and Atlanta.
This comes as Amazon enters its busiest holiday season and after the firm saw record sales during its 2024 Black Friday and Cyber Monday events.
Demands
Workers demand better pay, safety, and job security
The workers at Amazon's JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island were the first to win a union election in March 2022.
However, Amazon has still not begun negotiating a first contract with the Amazon Labor Union (ALU-IBT Local 1).
Employees are demanding improvements in pay, safety, and job security.
Workers at another New York City site, the DBK4 delivery station in Queens, also voted to strike in solidarity with their colleagues.
Unionization efforts
Teamsters organizing workers at 10 Amazon facilities
The Teamsters labor union have been organizing workers at 10 Amazon facilities across California, Georgia, Illinois, and New York.
Employees at two facilities near Atlanta, Georgia, and a delivery facility in Skokie, Illinois, have authorized strikes and joined NYC workers in walking out.
Luc Rene, a worker at DBK4 said, "Driving for Amazon is tough. What's even tougher is fighting a mega-corporation that constantly breaks the law and games the system."
Report findings
US Senate report highlights high injury rates at Amazon
The strike threats come after a US Senate health, education, labor, and pensions (Help) committee released a report on December 16 about Amazon's high injury rates.
The report stated that senior executives rejected internal recommendations to relax productivity quotas due to performance concerns.
It also backed a union-sponsored research that claimed injury rates at Amazon were significantly higher than those of its peers.
Dispute
Amazon disputes Senate report findings
Senator Bernie Sanders said of the report, "It's beyond unacceptable that Amazon, the 2nd largest corporation in America, owned by Jeff Bezos, the 2nd wealthiest person on Earth, continues to put their huge profits ahead of the health & safety of their workers."
Amazon, however, disputed the report's findings as "fundamentally flawed."
The company has yet to respond to the strike threats or demands for improved pay and working conditions.