Teamster drivers have expanded their strike against Amazon mere days before Christmas, and thousands are staying strong, vowing to hold out for as long as it takes to bring the online retail giant to the table.
Teamster driver Christopher Velez is among those marching in the picket line. Standing outside in frigid twelve-degree temperatures early Monday in Maspeth, New York, he spoke with FOX Business’ Madison Alworth about the ongoing strike.
“Put yourself in our shoes,” he said. “We’re out here. We’re fighting for something. We’re tired of being abused as slaves. Slavery ended a long time ago, so I’m just hoping that everything gets resolved soon and everything goes back to normal.”
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Velez said he’s “not really worried” about the prospect of Amazon never coming to the table because “there’s going to be a time that they’re going to have to negotiate with us one way or another.”
“They don’t like that we’re Amazon employees, but we’re Amazon employees, and we’re fighting out here,” he continued. “This is global. This is worldwide from Europe to the United States. We’re going to hit them. We’re going to hit them hard.”
Amazon has held firm, however, insisting they have no intention of sitting down with the Teamsters because, in their words, they “don’t represent any Amazon employees.”
Amazon national spokesperson Kelly Nantel told FOX Business last week that “there is no strike” and branded the movement as a “protest.”
“There are no Amazon employees or drivers who are involved in this activity. What we have is a protest that has been created and manufactured by the Teamsters to make a point,” she said, adding, “But I think it’s really important that viewers understand that the Teamsters don’t represent any Amazon employees, and they don’t represent any of our third-party drivers either.”
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Teamsters spokesperson Kara Deniz responded to Amazon’s remarks, insisting the company is “gaslighting the American public with their false narratives.”
“The truth is, over 20 bargaining units representing nearly 9,000 employees have successfully organized because for many years the company has exploited and abused workers, and these workers are fed up and fighting back,” she said.
“No matter how massive Amazon’s corporate PR machine is, they cannot fool the American public into believing drivers delivering Amazon packages in Amazon-branded vans don’t actually work for Amazon,” Deniz added. “No one believes this nonsense. Amazon needs to stop avoiding their legal obligation to these workers and get to the bargaining table now.”
The strike, which began last week, initially included seven hubs across California, Georgia, Illinois and New York.
Workers in two additional locations – Staten Island and at another location in California – walked off the job over the weekend to join the strike.
Teamsters Union President Sean O’Brien encouraged the expansion.
“Amazon executives are cowards hiding behind lies, threats and intimidation to dodge their responsibilities to workers and the public,” he said. “It takes real courage to stand up to a corporate bully, and Amazon Teamsters are doing just that.”
The union claims Amazon ignored their Dec. 15 deadline to negotiate new contracts for higher wages, better benefits and safer working conditions.
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FOX Business’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
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