Amazon Workers Authorize Third Strike at Illinois Facility as Union Tensions Rise

Amazon workers at a delivery station in Skokie, Illinois, have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, becoming the third US facility to do so in less than a week, reports the Wall Street Journal. This move signifies escalating tensions between the e-commerce giant and the Teamsters union amid ongoing contract negotiations.

The Teamsters, one of America's largest labor unions, announced Monday that employees at the DIL7 Amazon delivery station in Skokie had voted to authorize a strike. This follows similar votes last Friday by workers at the Staten Island JFK8 and Queens DBK4 facilities in New York City.

The union had issued a December 15 deadline to Amazon to engage in contract negotiations, a demand the company has reportedly ignored. "Amazon chose to ignore that deadline and is pushing workers across the country closer to launching a strike that could disrupt operations for customers at the height of the holiday season," the Teamsters stated.

The Teamsters represent hundreds of workers at the Skokie facility and a total of 1.3 million people across the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada.

Amazon, however, disputes the Teamsters' claims regarding their employee representation. "They don't, and this is another attempt to push a false narrative about the independent small businesses who deliver on our behalf," said Amazon spokesperson Eileen Hards. The company also alleges that the Teamsters have engaged in illegal intimidation tactics towards Amazon employees and third-party drivers.

The Teamsters, in response, accused Amazon of spreading false narratives and engaging in union-busting tactics. "The truth is for many years the company has exploited and abused workers, and these workers are fed up and fighting back," said Teamsters spokesperson Kara Deniz.

This union push comes after Amazon announced a $2 billion investment aimed at improving pay and benefits for delivery drivers, a move seen as an attempt to appease workers amid growing unionization efforts. The investment was projected to raise the average national pay for Amazon delivery drivers to nearly $22 an hour.