Strike Against Amazon Ends But Teamster Warn 'Stay Tuned'

Thousands of Amazon workers have ended their days-long strike against the company, but the the Teamsters are warning that their efforts are only beginning.

"Make no mistake the Teamsters will never let up and workers will never stop fighting for their rights at Amazon," a union representative said in a statement. "Stay tuned."

On Saturday, Amazon Teamsters at the JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island joined the historic strike against the corporate giant, alongside thousands of Teamsters striking at DBK4 in Maspeth, Queens; DGT8 in Atlanta; DFX4, DAX5, and DAX8 in Southern California; DCK6 in San Francisco; and DIL7 in Skokie, Ill.; as well as picketing at hundreds of other Amazon facilities.

This large-scale labor action was a result of Amazon's illegal refusal to bargain with its workers who have chosen to unionize with the Teamsters. In June, over 5,500 Amazon workers at JFK8 affiliated with the Teamsters and chartered Amazon Labor Union (ALU)-IBT Local 1. They overwhelmingly authorized a strike in response to the $2 trillion corporation's illegal and continued failure to recognize their union. Three hundred Amazon workers, Teamsters, and labor and community supporters had already begun packing the picket line at Amazon's DBK4 warehouse in Maspeth on December 19, with the facility unleashing a torrent of water onto their line and staging area on Saturday.

"Driving for Amazon is tough," said Luc Rene, a worker at DBK4. "What's even tougher is fighting a mega-corporation that constantly breaks the law and games the system. But we won't give up." Read more here, and follow the Local 804 Maspeth workers' here and the Amazon Labor Union here for updates on the workers' fight.