HUNTSVILLE — The nationwide strikes against Amazon and Starbucks have reached into the Tennessee Valley on Christmas Eve.
Teamsters have extended picket lines to Amazon’s facilities in Huntsville, turning around and delaying some shipments while encouraging workers to join the nationwide movement to organize Amazon.
“The unions of the North Alabama Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO, stand united in our solidarity with strike actions being taken across the country – including right here in North Alabama – against Amazon and Starbucks,” the NAALC said in a news release.
Union Starbucks workers in Scottsboro joined the strike today against their company. Workers there said they are seeking higher wages, better working conditions, and a voice on the job.
“I was proud to join the Teamsters on the picket line last Friday, and I’m proud to be on the picket line with Starbucks Workers United today,” said NAALC President Jacob Morrison, a member of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1858. “Without our labor, these corporations would be nothing. The sooner that all workers – not just at Starbucks and Amazon, but everywhere – realize our power, the sooner we will be able to build a better Alabama, and a better country, where all working class people can live a dignified life, with high wages, decent healthcare, and a secure retirement.”
The Teamsters kicked off their strike against Amazon last Thursday. They said the company refused to bargain with employees in time to meet its deadline of Dec. 15.
Last Friday, Starbucks Workers United launched its strike, citing a lack of progress in contract negotiations with the company. The union said Starbucks promised employees there would be an agreement by the end of this year.
Starbucks said about a dozen stores out of 10,000 nationwide were effected by the strike. Officials also said Workers United prematurely ended a bargaining session last week.
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