Teamster Union Leads Largest Amazon Strike in U.S. | Local News

Workers at Amazon facilities in some parts of the country went on strike Thursday in an effort aligned with the Teamster union.

At the Chattanooga Amazon Fulfillment Center in Enterprise South, a handful of protestors told Local 3 News they were from Cartersville, GA.

They were clad in Teamster-branded safety vests and held signs, waving to passing cars and trucks.

Much of the strike efforts have been aimed at one Amazon warehouse in San Francisco, California, and six delivery stations in southern California, New York City; Atlanta, Georgia, and Skokie, Illinois, according to the union’s announcement.

The Teamsters touted the strike as “the largest strike against Amazon in U.S. history.”

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in an email to Local 3 News: “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. 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 labor practice charges against the union.”

The move comes after the union says that Amazon refused to acknowledge a Sunday deadline the union set for contract negotiations.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters say they represent nearly 10,000 workers at 10 Amazon facilities, a small portion of the 1.5 million people Amazon employs in its warehouses and corporate offices.

Amazon says their delivery drivers, which the Teamsters have organized for more than a year, are not its employees and work for third-party business partners.

This is a developing story and will be updated.