The Teamsters Campaign: Why the Amazon Workers are Picking up the Teamsters,” Spokesman Kelly Nantel, a US Amazon spokesperson, and CEO Sean O’Brien
“We haven’t seen any impact on our operations” from the strikes, says Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel. We are thankful for the great work our team does to serve their customers and communities, and will continue to focus on getting customers their holiday orders. The Teamsters were accused of intimidating and harassing Amazon employees.
They began as a small, independent union called the Amazon Labor Union, but in June, merged with Teamsters, which represents 1.3 million people across the U.S. and Canada.
Gabriel Irizarry, a driver who works in Skokie, Illinois, said Amazon is one of the richest corporations in the world. They talk a big game about taking care of their workers, but when it comes down to it, Amazon does not respect us and our right to negotiate for better working conditions and wages. We can’t even afford to pay our bills.”
Leah Pensler, a warehouse worker in San Francisco said, “What we’re doing is historic. We are going to win the fight against the union-busting campaign.
The Teamsters union says workers in New York City, Atlanta, California and Illinois are joining the picket line. Workers at other facilities are prepared to strike as well.
Sean M O’Brien said that the greedy executives had a good chance to show respect for the people who make their obscene profits. “Instead, they’ve pushed workers to the limit and now they’re paying the price. This strike is on them.
Amazon’s Q3 earnings report released Thursday, December 6, 2019: An investigation by the New York Police Department as a result of protests
This has been a great year for Amazon. According to the company’s Q3 earnings report, the profit from July through September rose 55 percent in 2024 compared to the same period last year. A press release with the earnings report stated that the company was excited about what’s in store for customers for the holiday season. In Q4 the report said that net sales could be between $180 billion and $188 billion.
Meanwhile, New York Police Department officers stood in the street, sometimes shouting at and shoving workers who stepped off the sidewalk. The delivery driver was arrested in front of the parking garage by the NYPD as he tried to leave his van and join the strikers. NYPD announced via loudspeaker that any workers who stood in the road would be arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. Shortly after, the NYPD placed a Teamsters organizer under arrest, though it’s unclear if they were in the street. Police set up barricades outside the garage so they could organize the delivery vans with non-striking Amazon loss-prevention workers.
