Shares of Amazon (AMZN) fell today after the International Brotherhood of Teamsters filed an unfair labor practice lawsuit and a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the e-commerce giant. This came after a union buster allegedly threatened a driver, Emmanuel T., with violence at a Queens distribution center. Emmanuel was suspended later that day despite completing his morning deliveries.
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The suspension sparked a protest at the Queens DBK4 facility, where workers marched Wednesday demanding that Emmanuel get reinstated and that Juan Carlos Cervantes, the union-busting consultant hired by Amazon, get removed. Since organizing with the Teamsters in September, drivers have accused Amazon of retaliating, violating labor laws, and refusing to negotiate with the union despite being legally required to do so.
The Amazon Labor Union recently partnered with the Teamsters in order to strengthen its ability to push for a contract with Amazon. However, Amazon is working hard to prevent this from happening and has launched a media campaign against unionization by arguing that unions hinder innovation, create tension, and force non-union workers to pay dues in certain states.
Black Friday Strike
Unfortunately for Amazon, the troubles don’t end there. Workers in 20 countries are planning to go on strike during Black Friday weekend (November 28–December 2) as a way of demanding better wages and climate action from the company. The timing couldn’t be worse for Amazon, as it’s one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year, and the strike could delay or disrupt package deliveries.
The strike is backed by the Make Amazon Pay campaign, a group of 80 unions and advocacy organizations pushing for better working conditions. If enough workers join the protest, Amazon could struggle to keep up with the flood of orders during the holiday shopping rush.
Is Amazon Stock Expected to Rise?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on AMZN stock based on 45 Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 40% rally in its share price over the past year, the average AMZN price target of $239 per share implies 16.17% upside potential.
