ATLANTA — Members of the Teamsters Union who work for Amazon have authorized a strike in Atlanta during the holiday season.
A union statement noted that members employed at the company's DGT8 facility decided to strike "after the corporate giant refused to recognize their union and begin negotiations for a first contract."
“If Amazon Teamsters are forced onto the picket line, it’s because the company has failed its workforce,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “Amazon workers want to earn a good living, have decent health care, and be safe on the job. They are done with the disrespect, and if Amazon keeps pushing them, they will push them to strike.”
Nearly 10,000 Amazon workers at ten facilities throughout the U.S. are represented by the union, according to a statement. The Atlanta facility is among eight of those locations that have authorized strikes.
11Alive reached out to Amazon about the decision, with the company stating that the "drivers are employed by small businesses that deliver on behalf of Amazon, and they are not our employees."
The company added that it does not expect delivery operations to be impacted.
“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 about the independent small businesses who deliver on our behalf," Amazon Spokesperson Eileen Hards said.
As recently as September, the union voted to approve a tentative contract agreement with UPS, according to AP Business Writer Michaelle Chapman. The dead came after "contentious labor negotiations that threatened to disrupt package deliveries for millions of businesses and households nationwide."