Amazon strike extends to Staten Island, New York warehouse

Amazon workers at a warehouse on Staten Island in New York will join thousands of disgruntled workers as the strike against the retail giant entered its second day on Friday.

The truckers said in a release “Momentum continues to build” as workers seek “fair treatment” from the online retailer.

“The Amazon Teamsters movement is growing and getting stronger every day and will not be stopped,” the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said in a statement posted on social media.

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The JFK8 warehouse on Staten Island joined thousands of Amazon workers to protest the corporation’s refusal to “negotiate with its workers who have chosen to unionize with the Teamsters.”

The strike came after the Teamsters said Amazon ignored the union’s Dec. 15 deadline to negotiate new contracts for higher wages, better benefits and safer working conditions.

Amazon workers organized by Teamsters strike in Skokie, Illinois, during the 2024 holiday season. (Fox News/Fox News)

Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien encouraged the latter warehouse to join the strike, saying it takes “courage” to stand up to big corporations.

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“Amazon executives are cowards who hide behind lies, threats and intimidation to avoid their responsibilities to workers and the public,” he said. “It takes a lot of courage to stand up to a corporate bully, and the Amazon Teamsters are doing just that.”

Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said “Santa would be disgusted” by Amazon’s behavior on “Cavuto: Coast to Coast” on Thursday. (FOX Business/Getty Images/Photo Illustration/FOXBusiness)

The Staten Island workers joined thousands of other workers from seven sites in Skokie, Illinois; New York City; Atlanta; San Francisco; and Southern California.

Although the Teamsters say the union represents about 10,000 workers at 10 Amazon locations in the United States, the company does not recognize workers’ union membership.

Amazon says the Teamsters are “intentionally (misleading) the public” because they do not represent Amazon employees or drivers, company spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a previous statement to Fox Business.

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“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 do not, and this is another attempt to push a false narrative,” Nantel said. “The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers into joining them, which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labor practice charges against the union.” .

Strike Amazon Teamsters December 19, 2024. (FOX 5 New York/Fox News)

Nantel also said the company “does not expect any impact on our operations.”

Teamsters spokesperson Kara Deniz responded to Amazon’s statement, saying the company is “misleading the American public with its false narratives.”

“The truth is that more than 20 bargaining units representing almost 9,000 employees have successfully organized because for many years the company has exploited and abused workers, and these workers are fed up and are fighting back,” Deniz said.

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“No matter how massive Amazon’s corporate PR machine is, they can’t fool the American public into believing that drivers who deliver Amazon packages in Amazon-branded vans don’t actually work for Amazon,” Deniz added. “No one believes this nonsense. Amazon must stop shirking its legal obligation to these workers and come to the negotiating table now.”

Pilar Arias of FOX Business and Elizabeth Pritchett of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.