FOX Business' Madison Allworth and the “Morning with Maria” panel discuss the latest updates on Amazon's warehouse workers' coordinated effort in the days leading up to Christmas.
Teamster drivers have expanded Attack on Amazon Just days before Christmas, and thousands are still going strong, vowing to hold out until they bring the online retail giant to the negotiating table.
Team driver Christopher Wells is among those marching in the picket line. Standing outside in 12-degree temperatures early Monday, he spoke with FOX Business' Madison Allworth about the ongoing strike.
He said: Put yourself in our place. “We're here. We're fighting for something. We're tired of being treated as slaves. Slavery ended a long time ago, so I just hope that everything will be resolved soon and everything will be back to normal. back to normal.”
Team Builders Union Begins Historic Nationwide Strike Against Amazon: 'Paying the Price'
Teamster drivers strike Amazon (left). Christopher Wells (right) is a union member on strike in Maspeth, Queens, New York. (Getty Images)
Wells said he's not “really concerned” that Amazon will never come to the negotiating table because “there will come a time when 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 here fighting each other,” he continued. This is universal. It's all over the world from Europe to the US. We will hit them.
However, Amazon has remained adamant, insisting that it has no plans to sit down with the Teamsters because, according to them, they “do not represent any of Amazon's employees.”
Kelly Nantel, Amazon National Spokesperson told FOX Business last week that “there is no strike” and called the movement “protest”.
“There are no Amazon employees or drivers involved in this activity. What we have is a protest created and manufactured by the Teamsters to make a point,” he said. “But I think it's really important for viewers to understand that the Teamsters do not represent any of Amazon's employees, nor do they represent any of our third-party drivers,” he added.
Amazon workers in New York City are among those organized by the Teamsters union in cities across the United States to strike on Thursday, December 19, 2024. (WNWY)
Teamsters spokeswoman Cara Deniz responded to Amazon's comments, asserting that the company is “setting the American people on fire with its false narratives.”
He said: “The truth is that more than 20 bargaining units representing nearly 9,000 employees have successfully organized because the company has been exploiting and abusing workers for years and these workers are fed up and are fighting.”
“No matter how massive Amazon's public relations apparatus is, they cannot fool the American public into believing that drivers who deliver Amazon packages in Amazon-branded vans do not actually work for Amazon,” Denise added. “No one is going to believe this nonsense. Amazon needs to abandon its legal obligation to these workers and come to the negotiating table now.”
The strike, which began last week, initially included seven facilities across California, Georgia, Illinois and New York.
Workers at two additional locations – Staten Island And at another location in California – he walked off the job over the weekend to join the strike.
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Teamsters President Sean O'Brien is calling on Amazon to provide better pay for its union members and “negotiate” just days before the holiday rush.
Sean O'Brien, president of the Team Builders Association, encouraged the expansion.
“Amazon managers are cowards who hide behind lies, threats and intimidation to avoid their responsibility to workers and people,” he said. It takes real courage to stand up to a corporate bully, and Amazon's teams do just that.
The union claims Amazon has missed its Dec. 15 deadline to negotiate new contracts for higher wages, better benefits and safer working conditions.
FOX Business' Sarah Rump Witten contributed to this report.