Seven US Amazon warehouse employees went on strike, but analysts say the impact is limited.

On Thursday earlier during the holiday shopping peak, employees at seven warehouses of the retail giant Amazon.com, Inc. held a strike in the United States to protest the company's unfair treatment of its workers. Warehouse workers in cities like New York, Atlanta, and San Francisco participated in what truck driver union officials called the largest strike ever against Amazon.com, Inc., but this may not have much impact on the company's broad shipping operations. As the world's second largest private employer behind Walmart Inc., Amazon.com, Inc. has long been a target of unions, who claim that the company's emphasis on speed and efficiency could lead to injuries for workers. The company states that it pays industry-leading wages and uses automation to reduce repetitive stress. Workers say they hope Amazon.com, Inc. will come to the bargaining table and recognize the pressure that meeting demands that affect their health brings. However, these strikers are just a small portion of the over 800,000 employees that Amazon.com, Inc. employs in over 600 logistics centers, distribution centers, and same-day delivery facilities in the United States. 63-year-old Amazon.com, Inc. worker Jordan Soreff said, "(Amazon.com, Inc.) pretends there are no quotas, but there is a strict quota system that forces people to exceed their actual physical limits in an unnatural way. The more you do, the more others expect from you." He delivers about 300 packages a day for Amazon.com, Inc. in the Queens and Bronx areas of New York City. Soreff is one of about 100 workers outside the Queens Amazon.com, Inc. factory, including many truck driver union members who do not work for Amazon.com, Inc. However, the factory is still operational, with other drivers coming and leaving with police assistance who prevent protesters from blocking the drivers. A spokesperson for Amazon.com, Inc. said the truck drivers are "intentionally misleading the public" and are "threatening, intimidating, and attempting to coerce" employees and third-party drivers to join them. Amazon.com, Inc. has multiple office locations in many major metropolitan areas in the U.S., allowing it to avoid potential disruptions. The company says it expects no impact on operations during one of the busiest times of the year. In 2023, the company sold over 500 million items from independent sellers on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Morningstar analyst Dan Romanoff said, "There could be some isolated delays, but I don't think it will have a substantive impact." Earlier this year, Amazon.com, Inc. announced a $2.1 billion investment to increase wages for its U.S. logistics and transportation employees, raising base pay to at least $22 an hour, up by at least $1.50. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters gave Amazon.com, Inc. a deadline to begin negotiations on December 15, but no negotiations took place that day. The truck driver union says it represents 10,000 workers at 10 Amazon.com, Inc. facilities, but the e-commerce giant denies this, stating that these facilities haven't gone through elections or negotiations. Anti-union sentiment After workers in industries like automotive, aerospace, and railroads won significant concessions from employers, labor actions in the service industry have accelerated. If contract negotiations are not resolved, U.S. port workers may go on strike in mid-January. Earlier this week, a union representing over 10,000 Starbucks Corporation baristas was authorized to potentially strike. Earlier this year, several companies, including aerospace manufacturer Boeing Company, were impacted by strikes. Amazon.com, Inc. has yet to acknowledge the first-ever union vote at its Staten Island factory and has filed opposition with the National Labor Relations Board against the 2022 union vote. In a federal lawsuit filed in September, Amazon.com, Inc. questioned the constitutionality of the NLRB, established during the Great Depression of the 1930s. In San Francisco, at least 30 protesters gathered at an Amazon.com, Inc. factory, with an organizer for a truck driver union estimating that 15 to 20 were warehouse employees. Jane Roberts, a 30-year-old resident of San Francisco, has worked at the factory for nearly two years and says the main reason she supports the strike is for safety conditions. Roberts held a sign outside the gate saying, "I not only watch my colleagues, see how exhausted their bodies are, but as part-time staff, we don't even get proper benefits." Amazon.com, Inc.'s business includes Whole Foods Market and could face other union actions in the coming months. Last November, workers at a Philadelphia Whole Foods applied for a union election, the first since Amazon.com, Inc. acquired the company in 2017. The United Services Union in Germany also announced strikes at Amazon.com, Inc. warehouses across the country starting Thursday in support of truck drivers.