E-commerce retailer Amazon.com (AMZN) is set to face its largest workers strike led by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in the busy Christmas season. The strike will begin at 6 a.m. EST today, December 19. Roughly 10,000 Amazon workers from ten locations around the U.S. will go on the picket lines this morning. The locations include New York City, Atlanta, Southern California, San Francisco, and Skokie, Illinois.
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Furthermore, Teamsters unions at some other non-striking locations are also putting up picket lines in support of the strike. Their law says that workers and drivers without collective bargaining agreements can also officially stand at picket lines and withhold their work. The strike could hamper Amazon’s deliveries during the Christmas-New Year week, when millions of packages change hands.
Here’s Why Teamsters Are Striking
The Teamsters threatened to stage a strike yesterday, blaming Amazon’s greed and reluctance to come to the negotiating table. December 15 was set as the deadline for final negotiations, but Amazon failed to address the workers’ demands. The union members are seeking better wages, enhanced incentives, and safer working conditions at Amazon warehouses.
The two-trillion-dollar company is refusing to provide better working conditions and pay to its workers. Teamsters’ officials are stating that Amazon gives big talks but does nothing for workers in practice. Workers are happy to join the Teamsters union because they have won quite a few negotiations with big companies in the past.
However, earlier in the day, an Amazon spokesperson claimed that the Teamsters union has been intentionally misguiding people about the company’s intent. Also, the spokesperson said that Teamsters is lying about representing thousands of Amazon workers or drivers. He further added that the Teamsters have illegally threatened and intimidated workers and drivers to join their union.
Unfortunately for Amazon, a congressional investigation concluded that the retailer pushes its warehouse workers beyond the limit to fulfill timely deliveries. Amazon has denied any such wrongdoing.
Is AMZN a Buy Right Now?
Wall Street is highly optimistic about Amazon stock’s trajectory owing to its well-established business. On TipRanks, AMZN stock commands a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 45 Buys and one Hold recommendation. The average Amazon.com price target of $245.10 implies 11.1% upside potential from current levels. Meanwhile, AMZN shares have gained 45.1% so far this year.
