Amazon and Starbucks workers strike; Trump could have something to do with it

Amazon delivery drivers and Starbucks baristas are on strike in several US cities, trying to put pressure on the two big companies to recognize them as union employees or to meet demands for an initial labor contract.

The strikes began Thursday and Friday after other recent clashes between corporate America and organized labor. Large, established unions secured major concessions from employers this year following strikes by Boeing factory workers, longshoremen at East and Gulf Coast ports, video game players and hotel and casino workers in the Las Vegas Strip.

But workers at Starbucks, Amazon and some other prominent consumer brands are still fighting for their first contracts. Amazon refuses to recognize the organizing efforts of drivers and warehouse workers — many of whom have voted to unionize — even though the powerful Teamsters union says it represents them. Starbucks had long resisted unionizing its stores, but had agreed to negotiate a contract by the end of the year.

Why are the strikes happening now?

Strikes—particularly those that occur during the Christmas season, a time of high economic activity—can help unions exert influence during negotiations or demonstrate their strength by gaining support from sympathetic workers and consumers.

Both Amazon and Starbucks saw a wave of organizing efforts following the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic focused attention on frontline workers and the impact of economic inequality on the lives of American wage earners.

Employees organized in bookstores, where unions are unusual, and had success with campaigns in some stores led by Apple, Trader Joe’s and the outdoor equipment company REI.

But turning those wins into contracts can be a challenge. At Amazon and Starbucks, which were not unionized before the pandemic, workers have not yet reached an agreement with the e-commerce and coffee giants, which are based in Seattle.

John Logan, director of labor and employment studies at San Francisco State University, said he believes Amazon and Starbucks workers are “desperate” to make progress before President-elect Donald Trump has a chance to name a Republican majority. on the National Labor Relations Board, which is expected to become less union-friendly during his administration.

“Unions want to make these disputes public and put political pressure on companies,” Logan detailed in a written statement. “If these disputes drag on into next year, and if they are fought primarily through the labor board and the courts, unions and workers will almost certainly lose. “This could be his last, best opportunity to publicly pressure companies before Trump takes office.”

However, Trump has also given some signs that he might be more work-friendly during his second term compared to his first administration. Last month, he tapped Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer to lead the Labor Department in his new administration, elevating a Republican congresswoman who has strong support from unions, including the Teamsters, which is the International Brotherhood. of truckers. Teamsters President Sean O’Brien also spoke at the Republican National Convention last summer.

Strikes led by Teamsters at Amazon

The Teamsters, a union that encompasses private and public sector workers, say Amazon employees are striking at seven delivery stations in Southern California, San Francisco, New York City, Atlanta and Skokie, Illinois, because The company ignored a deadline set by the union for contract negotiations on Sunday.

The Teamsters have announced that starting at midnight Saturday, workers will also strike at a prominent warehouse in New York, which voted to join the fledgling Amazon Labor Union in 2022 and has since chosen to join the the Teamsters.

The prominent labor group says it is fighting for higher wages, better benefits and safer working conditions for Amazon employees, many of whom experience economic insecurity despite working for a company valued at $2.3 trillion. He has not said how many Amazon warehouse workers or drivers are joining the strike.

The union has primarily focused on organizing delivery drivers, who the company considers not its workers because they are directly employed by contractors Amazon recruited to handle package deliveries.

That kind of setup gives Amazon more cover from unionization attempts in an industry — transportation and trucking — that is dominated by the Teamsters. However, the union has argued before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that the drivers, who wear Amazon’s ubiquitous blue-gray vests and drive similarly colored vans, should be classified as company employees. .

For its part, the online retailer has accused the union of pushing a “false narrative” about the thousands of workers it claims to represent. Amazon has also touted its pay, saying it provides warehouse and transportation employees with a base salary of $22 an hour plus benefits. It also recently increased hourly pay for outsourced delivery drivers.

In September, the NLRB, which has taken a more worker-friendly stance under President Joe Biden, filed a complaint that concluded the drivers were joint employees of Amazon. The agency also accused Amazon of failing to legally negotiate with the Teamsters over a contract for drivers at a delivery center in California.

The Teamsters union says it also represents Amazon warehouse workers, including thousands of employees at the major New York City fulfillment center who voted to be represented by the Amazon Labor Union.

Amazon challenged the results of the 2022 warehouse election, alleging that the Amazon Labor Union and the federal labor board had tainted the vote. An NLRB regional director filed a complaint last year accusing Amazon of violating the law by refusing to negotiate with the union.

Amazon, in turn, is challenging the constitutionality of the NLRB in federal court along with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. In June, the Supreme Court made it harder for the agency to obtain court orders in labor disputes, siding with Starbucks in a case brought by the company.

Contract negotiations at Starbucks

Unlike Amazon, contract negotiations are ongoing at Starbucks.

But Starbucks Workers United, the union that has organized workers at 535 company-owned stores in the United States since 2021, stressed that the company has not followed through on a commitment made in February to reach a labor agreement this year.

The union is also demanding that Starbucks resolve outstanding legal issues, including hundreds of unfair labor practice charges that workers have filed with the NLRB. The agency has also opened or settled hundreds of charges against Amazon.

In launching strikes that began Friday in Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle, Workers United charged that Starbucks proposed an economic package with no new pay raises for unionized baristas now and a 1.5% raise in future years.

Union leaders reported that the strikes expanded Saturday to include stores in Denver, Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio, with plans for baristas to join picket lines in New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia and St. Louis on Sunday.

Without providing a specific number, labor leaders said dozens of Starbucks stores are now affected by the strike.

Starbucks maintained that Workers United prematurely ended a negotiating session this week. The company also argues that it offers up-front pay and benefits worth $30 per hour for baristas who work at least 20 hours per week.

Starbucks workers walked off the job twice last year. Workers United has said the latest strikes could spread to hundreds of stores across the country by Christmas Eve.

Patricia Campos-Medina, who recently ran for the U.S. Senate as a Democrat in New Jersey and heads the Cornell University Labor Institute in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, said she hopes there will be more union activity before Trump takes office.

Trump’s reactions will give the population the opportunity to see what his “commitments to the working class” are, Campos-Medina said.