California Amazon Workers Began ULP Strike on June 24

(CARTERET, N.J.) — Striking Amazon delivery drivers and dispatchers from Palmdale, Calif., extended their picket line to an Amazon warehouse (EWR5) outside of New York City today, to demand the e-commerce giant stop its unfair labor practices. The growing strike will continue until Amazon reinstates the unlawfully terminated Palmdale employees, recognizes the Teamsters, respects the contract negotiated by the workers, and bargains with the Teamsters Union to address low pay and dangerous working conditions.

“I’ve been bitten by a dog and felt close to fainting in the back of Amazon’s sweltering vans, but Amazon only cares about whether the packages get delivered,” said Cecilia Porter, a striking Amazon driver from California who traveled to New Jersey for the picket line. “Our safety is not Amazon’s priority, so we are protecting ourselves by organizing a union. We are going to continue our unfair labor practice strike until Amazon respects our rights.”

Amazon drivers and dispatchers began their unfair labor practice strike at an Amazon delivery station in Palmdale on June 24. The Carteret, N.J., facility is the fifth Amazon warehouse Palmdale Teamsters have picketed during their nearly two-week strike, and the first outside California. They extended their picket line to Amazon sortation centers in San Bernardino, Mira Loma and Newark, Calif., last week.

“These Amazon workers organized a union for fair pay and safe jobs, but Amazon illegally refused to recognize their union or bargain with them,” said Victor Mineros, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 396 in Los Angeles. “The support from communities around these warehouses and other workers in this industry has been tremendous. We are going to hold this corporate criminal accountable for how it treats the workers who wear its uniforms and deliver its packages.”

The 84 workers in Palmdale joined Teamsters Local 396 and bargained a contract with Amazon’s Delivery Service Partner (DSP), Battle-Tested Strategies (BTS), in April. Despite the absolute control it wields over BTS and workers’ terms and conditions of employment, Amazon has refused to recognize and honor the union contract. Instead, Amazon has engaged in dozens of unfair labor practices in violation of federal labor law, including terminating the entire unit of newly organized workers.

“We organized with the Teamsters and other community organizations to demand good jobs and clean air at Amazon’s planned air cargo hub at Newark Airport,” said Diana Buitrago, a member of Make the Road NJ Workers’ Committee, who joined the striking Amazon workers on the picket line. “In Newark, Amazon decided to walk away rather than listen to what the community needed. We are here on the picket line with these striking Amazon workers because our communities need jobs where workers are respected.”

“I’m here standing with my Teamster siblings from Amazon in California, because Amazon has been undermining the industry standards that our families depend on,” said Rubin Rios, a member of Teamsters Local 863 in Mountainside, N.J. “All workers in this industry deserve the fair pay and safe jobs that Teamsters have fought so hard to achieve. We are going to accept nothing less.”  

Amazon drivers in Palmdale organized with the Teamsters to protect their safety in extreme temperatures, which regularly exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit during Palmdale summers. Their Teamster contract guarantees the rights of workers to drive safe equipment and refuse unsafe deliveries. Making the contract’s protections a reality will require an overhaul of Amazon’s exploitative labor practices.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.2 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.

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