Amazon Warehouse Workers in New York Join Union Strike
The Teamsters union announced that warehouse workers at a massive Amazon sorting and distribution center in Staten Island, New York, have joined thousands of union members who began a strike this week against the online retail giant. The strike is the latest effort by the Teamsters and other unions to organize workers at Amazon, the nation’s second-largest private sector employer.
The Staten Island facility, known as JFK8, is a major location for Amazon, with more than 5,000 permanent hourly workers. In April 2022, 55% of workers who participated in a representation election voted to join a union. The union says it has strong support among workers at the distribution center.
Amazon continues to insist that the strike is not affecting shipments to customers, as it only affects a handful of its network of distribution centers. The company operates several other distribution centers within miles of its facility in Staten Island, including a smaller nonunion one directly across the street.
The strike is expected to be a set-duration strike, not a traditional strike that shuts down production until a contract agreement is reached. Amazon continues to insist that the union doesn’t represent any of its workers and has no intention of holding talks.
The company has filed 17 complaints against the Teamsters or Amazon Labor Union for unfair labor practices, including allegations of intimidation. The Teamsters, ALU, and other unions have filed hundreds of complaints against Amazon.
The strike is a significant development in the effort to organize workers at Amazon, which has more than 740,000 US workers spread across 1,000 warehouses and distribution centers. The company has a reputation for being fiercely anti-union, but workers are increasingly seeking to form unions to improve their working conditions and wages.
“I am thrilled to be part of this fight,” said Valerie Strapoli, a worker at the Staten Island facility. “Amazon has shoved us around for so long, but we have the momentum now.”
