Thousands of Amazon Drivers Set to Strike at Christmas

What Happened?

Thousands of Amazon drivers across four states in the U.S. went on strike Thursday with less than a week to go before Christmas.

The Teamsters Union announced the historic measure in a statement after they allege Amazon's 'repeated refusal to follow the law and bargain.'

This strike comes after Amazon reportedly ignored the union's Dec. 15 deadline to negotiate new contracts for higher wages, better benefits, and safer work conditions.

Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said, '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.'

The statement adds that Amazon workers will join picket lines in New York City, Atlanta, parts of Southern California, including San Francisco, and Skokie, Illinois noting other facilities are also prepared to join.

The union represents nearly 10,000 people across 10 Amazon facilities nationwide.

That accounts for less than 1% of the company’s U.S. workforce, according to reports.

Despite delivering Amazon packages, wearing Amazon vests, and driving Amazon vans, the company reportedly disputes that those protesting are even Amazon employees.

Amazon also suggests that the strike will not affect holiday deliveries.

In a statement according to Fox Business, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said that Teamsters is 'intentionally [misleading] the public' because they don't represent Amazon employees and drivers.

The company adds that team members are already offered competitive pay opportunities and health benefits after the average base wage was raised to $22 per hour in September.

Why it Matters

Reports suggest that it's not just drivers who work as independent contractors that Amazon refuses to recognize as Teamsters Union members.

By striking, the Teamsters hopes that added pressure for Amazon during the holidays will convince some of its customers to shop elsewhere for their last-minute gift-shopping needs.

Reports say Teamsters also declared that employees at numerous Amazon facilities have signed cards asking to join.

The union reportedly claims that under a rule announced by the National Labor Relations Board, Teamsters can be considered to have joint employers that are in fact, independent contractors.

Other business groups, including Amazon, are reportedly challenging the constitutionality of the labor board.

Under Amazon's business model, the drivers who deliver millions of packages daily work for third-party businesses called Delivery Service Partners.

However, the union reportedly argues that Amazon controls everything the drivers do and should be classified as an employer.

How it Affects You

More than 26 million people, around one in six U.S. workers, are reportedly working as independent contractors or other related work.

As companies like Amazon continue to evolve, these classification guidelines may very well impact these companies' approaches to how services are performed and carried out in the future.