Amazon workers to strike in US during busy Christmas season

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.

Amazon disputes the union’s claim to represent any of its employees and says its conduct is illegal.

“For more than a year now, the Teamsters have continued to intentionally mislead the public – claiming that they represent ‘thousands of Amazon employees and drivers’. They don’t, and this is another attempt to push a false narrative,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel told Al Jazeera.

“The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers to join them, which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labour practice charges against the union.”

Amazon, the world’s second-biggest private employer after Walmart, has for years faced accusations that it puts profits above safe conditions at its facilities.

A US Senate committee earlier this week released the findings of an 18-month investigation that found the company pushes its warehouse workers to fulfil orders at speeds that could cause high rates of injury.

Amazon said the report was “wrong on the facts and features selective, outdated information that lacks context and isn’t grounded in reality”.

Last month, Amazon workers in more than 20 countries, including the US and the United Kingdom, announced a “Make Amazon Pay” campaign of protests and strike action aimed at raising awareness about labour abuses and environmental degradation.