“These greedy executives had every opportunity to show decency and respect for the people who make their obscene profits possible,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said. said in a public statement. “Instead, they have pushed workers to the limit and now they are paying the price. This strike is on them.”
It’s been a record-breaking year for Amazon. According to the company’s Q3 earnings report, profits from July to September 55 percent increased In 2024 compared to the same period last year. In A Press release Published alongside the earnings report, Amazon President and CEO Andy Jessey said the company was excited about “what we have in store for customers” for the holiday season. Report Estimated Total sales in Q4 will be between $181.5 billion and $188.5 billion.
“We have not seen any impact on our operations from the strikes,” Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said. “We appreciate the great work our entire team does to serve their customers and communities, and are continuing to focus on getting customers their holiday orders.” Nantel also accused the Teamsters of harassing and intimidating Amazon employees.
Located in DBK4, Queens, New York, hundreds of Amazon workers marched on the sidewalk in front of the parking garage exit, sometimes confronting exiting delivery drivers who were crossing the picket line. Scores of delivery vans honked their horns in unison as they waited in line to exit the parking garage. Some of the protesting workers held signs saying “Amazon obeys the law”. Among the marchers were those who came in solidarity, carrying signs representing the New York State Nurses Association and City University of New York (CUNY) students.
Meanwhile, New York Police Department officers stood in the street, sometimes yelling and shoving workers who stepped off the sidewalk. Just after 9 a.m. ET, the NYPD arrested a delivery driver who tried to get out of his delivery van just outside the parking garage and join the strikers. Around 9:50 a.m., the NYPD announced over loudspeakers that any employees standing on the street would be arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. Shortly after, the NYPD arrested a Teamsters organizer, although it is unclear if they were in the street. Eventually, police set up barricades outside the garage and began staffing delivery vans with non-striking Amazon loss-prevention workers.
