Amazon’s largest strike threatens timely holiday deliveries in Metro Detroit

The Teamsters Union has announced that the strike is beginning at Amazon facilities in New York, Illinois, California, and Georgia, with local unions planning picket lines at hundreds of fulfilment centres across the country, including possibly in Metro Detroit. As a result, there are growing concerns about potential delays in package deliveries in the region.

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Strike’s impact on Metro Detroit’s holiday shopping

In Detroit, a few workers at the Amazon fulfilment facility on Woodward joined the demonstration, walking off the job at 6 a.m. this morning. The strike is taking place at seven different locations including New York City, Atlanta, San Francisco and just outside of Los Angeles and Chicago with Christmas only a week away.

The strike is being labelled as the biggest strike as 10,000 employees take part in it, nationwide. The Teamsters Union says local fulfilment centres across the country will likely join the picket lines in support.

The strike comes after the Amazon Union labour demanded a bargaining table meeting by December 15. Thus they are now going on a strike against the $2 trillion company right around the busiest time of the year.

Teamster member Ash Brooks, “It’s important because as workers we need our voices heard. This has been a long time coming and we need to show Jeff Bezos and the entire Amazon corporation and the rest of the world that our voices matter,” as reported by WXYZ Detroit.

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Amazon assures timely deliveries to customers

Despite the strikes, Amazon reassured its customers that their packages were en route and would be delivered on time. The corporation said that the Teamsters represent only one per cent of the Amazon employees, therefore, there should be no delays or disruptions in the deliveries. In a statement, the company said, “The Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers to join them, which is illegal…”

The Detroit Amazon facility is not involved in the Teamsters strike but is instead part of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), which began representing the facility earlier this year. The APWU currently represents 450 workers at the Detroit location.

Joint Council #43 President Kevin Moore said, “They should be calling Amazon and say why don’t you treat your workers fair. We’re ordering out packages every day you’re coming to my house. Pay the workers a fair wage. I know how much money you guys are making.”

He continued, “Right now this is a non-union driver coming in here for Amazon and we’re here to slow this traffic down. Any union carrier that comes here if you see a UPS come come by here, he’s not crossing this line. He won’t cross the line,” as reported by WXYZ Detroit.

Moore shared that 40 per cent of the nationwide packages are shipped via UPS but the company assures that the package deliveries will not be disrupted during the holiday season. However, it was beyond Moore how the delay was not possible given the Union labour would be on strike today and tomorrow and even beyond that if things didn’t progress.