Amazon accuses the Teamsters of “misleading” actions in the wake of labor disputes in Connecticut.

During a picket line outside Amazon’s Windsor plant held to bolster support for workers across the country, the company claimed: “The Teamsters are intentionally misleading workers and their claims are not true.”

“There were no Amazon employees in attendance at this meeting, and the (delivery service partner) in California you mentioned was fired for unsafe conduct over a year ago and before joining the Teamsters,” said Eileen Hards, Amazon’s public relations manager.

Joined by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, State Senator Douglas McCrory and Representative Manny Sanchez, workers from Palmdale, California, “met with employees at the fulfillment center in Windsor to gain support for their fight to increase the power of Amazon workers across the country,” a union spokesman said.

“During the strike action, workers also called on Amazon to restore their jobs, recognize their union contract and begin collective bargaining with the Teamsters union to increase wages and improve working conditions,” the spokesman said in a statement.

A message was left with the spokesperson seeking further comment on Amazon’s statement.

“I have never been prouder to walk with a group than with these Amazon workers fighting for fair pay, safe working conditions, and respect. They deserve and need a contract,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “Amazon demeans its own people, putting profits before people and its stock price before its workers. To Jeff Bezos: You can go down in history as a hero or a villain in this piece, all you have to do is treat workers fairly. Give workers fair pay, safe working conditions, respect, and a contract. America is watching.”

Deion Steppes, an Amazon delivery driver and teamster from Palmdale, said, “We are called Amazon Associates and are not considered Amazon employees, but we wear their uniforms and drive their vehicles.”

“What Amazon is doing is unfair and unjust. You are our employer and we are your employees,” he said in the statement.

The union spokesperson said that after organizing with the Teamsters in April 2023, the California-based delivery workers “made history by negotiating a first-of-its-kind contract with Amazon’s Delivery Service Partner (DSP), Battle-Tested Strategies (BTS). Amazon refused to recognize the collective agreement and has instead engaged in dozens of unfair labor practices that violate federal labor law, including firing the entire unit of newly organized workers.”

“I want to thank the Teamsters for standing up for these hardworking people who want a living wage, a wage that can feed their families and buy food. They need a contract,” McCrory said in the statement.

“Everyone deserves a fair contract, a fair wage and health insurance,” Sanchez said. “Amazon, your big man Bezos is making billions in profits. It’s time you gave some of that money and got it to the people who actually do the work for you. You wouldn’t have those billions if it weren’t for those hard-working people. We’re going to support them every step of the way on their path to a contract.”

The spokesman said Amazon Teamsters “began a strike against unfair labor practices in June 2023 and have since expanded their picket to over 30 Amazon warehouses in 10 states from coast to coast.”

The strike extensions “have strengthened the unity of Amazon workers across the country and provided important opportunities to discuss common issues, including safety concerns due to the extreme heat that the East Coast is currently dealing with its first heat wave of the summer. In Palmdale, temperatures regularly exceed 100 degrees during the summer,” the spokesman said.