Original Story by Kelly Byer
Canton Repository
CANTON ‒ International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 92 members protested outside Amazon’s Canton facility on Thursday as workers went on strike at seven other locations around the country.
The local does not represent any drivers or workers at the Canton facility but is demonstrating in solidarity, President Doyle Baird said. The Teamsters held signs that said “Amazon is unfair” and waved a flag at passing motorists, some of which honked in response.
“Amazon has pretty much forced a strike by refusing to follow the law and bargain with thousands of Amazon workers who have already organized with other Teamster locals across the country,” Baird said.
Amazon responds to union protestors
Amazon contends that the Teamsters are pushing a “false narrative” and do not represent their drivers, who work for third-party contractors, or warehouse employees.
“What you see here are almost entirely outsiders—not Amazon employees or partners—and the suggestion otherwise is just another lie from the Teamsters,” according to a prepared statement from Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel.
“The truth is that they were unable to get enough support from our employees and partners and have brought in outsiders to come and harass and intimidate our team, which is inappropriate and dangerous. We appreciate all our team’s great work to serve their customers and communities, and are continuing to focus on getting customers their holiday orders.”
Teamsters Local 92 has about 1,900 members in the greater Canton, New Philadelphia and Portsmouth areas. Baird said the largest employer for their union members is UPS.
Vice President Rich Sandberg said that he hasn’t heard the same “horror stories” about working conditions in Canton as have been shared about other Amazon facilities, but any benefits secured by a union contract likely will “trickle down.”
“They’re going to get benefit from this, regardless,” he said.
Protestors gather outside Amazon’s Canton facility
About half a dozen Teamsters sat along Regent Avenue NE, which leads to the Amazon warehouse, from 6 a.m. to about 2:30 p.m. Thursday and planned to return daily.
“We’ll be out here until the international calls the strike,” Baird said.
In addition to Canton, Teamsters in other Ohio communities with Amazon fulfillment centers also protested. They were present Thursday outside the Akron fulfillment center at 2450 Romig Road.
Local 100, which covers the Amazon fulfillment center in Monroe near Cincinnati, joined the strike this morning, according to reporting from WLWT.
Some members of Teamsters Local 413 in Columbus have joined the strike in solidarity, a representative said.
Workers at an Amazon fulfillment center in New York City were the first to vote to unionize in 2022, but the company filed objections with the National Labor Relations Board. The Amazon Labor Union affiliated in June with the Teamsters, who say they represent nearly 10,000 workers at 10 Amazon facilities ― only about 1% of Amazon’s hourly workforce, Reuters reported.
The labor strike represents an attempt by the Teamsters to put pressure on the online shopping retailer by threatening to delay some of Amazon’s package deliveries during one of its busiest times of the year. The move comes after Teamsters officials accused Amazon of failing to come to the bargaining table to negotiate contracts by ignoring a Dec. 15 deadline the union set.
“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed,” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “These greedy executives had every chance to show decency and respect for the people who make their obscene profits possible. Instead, they’ve pushed workers to the limit and now they’re paying the price.”
Amazon workers who are part of the Teamsters went on strike in seven locations, according to a release from the union: New York City, Atlanta, San Francisco, Skokie, Illinois, and three chapters in Southern California. The strike started at 6 a.m. Thursday.
The union is fighting for a contract guaranteeing higher wages and improved work conditions with the strikes, which officials say could expand beyond the seven initial sites. While the union calls it “the largest strike against Amazon in U.S. history,” Amazon has said the work stoppage is largely not anticipated to slow its operations.
Reach Kelly at 330-580-8323 or kelly.byer@cantonrep.com
Includes reporting by USA TODAY.
