AOC joins Amazon picket line as thousands of workers strike before Christmas

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has joined the picket line alongside thousands of Amazon workers who decided to strike just days before Christmas.   

Workers from seven Amazon facilities across the US walked off the job Thursday in a bid to pressure the company to come to a labor agreement during one of the busiest shopping periods of the year. 

Members of Teamsters local unions joined the picket line after Amazon ignored a December 15 deadline that the union set for contract negotiations.

On Sunday, AOC decided to show her support for workers as she marched around with signs and made a speech at the Teamsters strike in Queens. 

'Tis' the season! And if you all can deliver packages, you should be able to afford packages for your family, to afford the things that you need for your babies, for your families, for your neighborhood,' the progressive Democrat said, bundled up in a Teamsters hat and jacket.  

'And so we're here to support you all in making sure that we do that. And so we're out here in Maspeth, and for anybody that's watching this - show up, roll up, and make sure that we support everybody,' she said, adding that 'New York has got your back.'

'We make sure that everybody rolls up, and that we draw attention to this struggle and this fight.' 

Amazon workers are specifically fighting for higher wages, safer working conditions, and better benefits from Jeff Bezos' $2.3 trillion company. Both Amazon warehouse workers and drivers have joined the strike. 

The strikes are taking place at one Amazon warehouse in San Francisco, California, and six delivery stations in southern California, New York City, Atlanta, Georgia, and Skokie, Illinois, according to the union's announcement. 

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters says it represents nearly 10,000 workers at 10 Amazon facilities, though it is not clear how many people have participated in the country-wide walkout. 

Teamsters boss Sean O'Brien has told customers to 'blame Amazon's insatiable greed' if their deliveries are 'delayed during the holidays.' 

But customers waiting on their packages to arrive have been left livid with the timing of the strikes happening so close to the holiday. 

One customer argued 'it is not the time' for a strike, while others warned it was 'time to panic'. Another even said 'employees can kiss my a** right now for going on strike right before Christmas!'

Amazon says it doesn't expect an impact on its operations during what the union calls the largest strike against the company in US history. 

Amazon workers are not the only one's taking a stand, as Starbucks baristas have launched their own strikes across the country. 

Although negotiations are underway for Starbucks employees, Workers United - the union that has organized workers at 535 stores since 2021 - said the company has failed to honor a commitment made in February to reach a labor agreement this year, AP reported. 

Starbucks employees took to the streets on Friday in Chicago, Seattle and Los Angeles, as the union is also asking the company to resolve ongoing legal issues, including hundreds of unfair labor practice charges that workers filed with the National Labor Relations Board. 

John Logan, the director of labor and employment studies at San Francisco State University, said he believes employees from both companies are 'desperate' to progress in their fight before President-elect Donald Trump appoints a Republican majority to the National Labor Relations Board. 

'The unions want to make these disputes public and bring political pressures on the companies,' Logan said. 

'If these disputes drag on until next year, and if they are fought largely through the labor board and the courts, the unions and workers will almost certainly lose. This might be their last, best chance to pressure the companies in public before Trump comes into office.' 

Despite the union focusing on delivery drivers, Amazon says they are not technically employed by the company, and instead work under contractors Amazon recruited.

Amazon has also noted the base wage warehouse workers and subcontracted drivers currently make at an hourly pay to $22, including benefits. 

The online retailer has also blasted the union group for portraying a 'false narrative' about the thousands of employees it claims to represent. 

Meanwhile, Workers United said Starbucks recently proposed a package that does not give unionized baristas a higher wage now, but a 1.5 percent increase in the future. 

Now, union employees have expanded their strike efforts, including at stores in Denver, Columbus, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Brooklyn, Long Island, and St. Louis. 

Lynne Fox, the president of Workers United, said that although the union was ready to move forward, the popular coffee chain was not.  

'We were ready to bring the foundational framework home this year, but Starbucks wasn’t.

'After all Starbucks has said about how they value partners throughout the system, we refuse to accept zero immediate investment in baristas’ wages and no resolution of the hundreds of outstanding unfair labor practices,' Fox said. 

In response, Starbucks said that Workers United ended a bargaining session just last week, adding that the company already offers pay and benefits worth $30 per hour for baristas that work at least 20 hours a week.

Workers United predicts the strikes will spread to more stores across the county by Tuesday - Christmas Eve.