ALPHARETTA, Ga. — With just six days to go before Christmas, Amazon workers across the nation walked off the job asking the corporation for better pay and benefits.
A group picketed outside of the Amazon facility in Alpharetta Thursday, asking for Amazon leaders to recognize their union. Gregory Dunn says they just want to be treated fairly.
“We’re trying to get better pay, better benefits, more time off, better winter coats. Everything,” said Dunn.
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The Teamsters Union, who organized Thursday’s strike, said that nearly 10,000 Amazon workers spanning across eight facilities were expected to walk off the job Thursday. A spokesperson for the union says they set a Dec. 15 deadline to begin contract negotiations, which was not met.
The company claims that they already pay workers fair pay and benefits, adding that they have raised minimum wage by about 20% over the last few years.
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However, drivers like Aaron Nipper says he has struggled to provide for his family.
“I have two kids that I take care of on my own and I could never made enough to really provide for them. I could give them the necessities, but I was struggling to like go that extra mile off of the pay that I made,” shared Nipper.
Despite the timing of the protests, Amazon is reassuring customers that these protests won’t impact operations, saying this in response to the demonstrations:
“What you see here are almost entirely outsiders—not Amazon employees or partners—and the suggestion otherwise is just another lie from the Teamsters. 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.”
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