Amazon team workers expand strike to Connecticut, Senator Blumenthal joins

Workers increase pressure against Amazon’s unfair labor practices

(WINDSOR, Connecticut) – Amazon delivery drivers represented by Teamsters Local 396 in Palmdale, California, expanded their picket line to Amazon’s BDL4 fulfillment center in Windsor, Connecticut on Wednesday, demanding that the e-commerce giant end its unfair labor practices and negotiate with the Teamsters union for better wages and the elimination of hazardous working conditions.

Joined by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, Senator Douglas McCrory of Connecticut and State Representative Manny Sanchez, the Palmdale workers met with colleagues at the fulfillment center in Windsor to rally support for their fight for more power for Amazon workers across the country. At the picket, the workers also called on Amazon to reinstate their jobs, honor their collective bargaining agreement and begin collective bargaining with the Teamsters Union to increase wages and improve working conditions.

“I have never been prouder to march 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. “Amazon demeans its own people, puts 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 article, all you have to do is treat workers fairly. Give workers fair pay, safe working conditions, respect and a contract. America is watching.”

“We are called Amazon Associates and are not considered Amazon employees, but we wear their uniforms and drive their vehicles,” said Deion Steppes, an Amazon delivery driver and Teamster from Palmdale. “What Amazon is doing is unfair and unjust. They are our employer and we are your employees.”

After unionizing with the Teamsters in April 2023, 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 instead resorted to dozens of unfair labor practices that violate federal labor law, including firing the entire unit with the 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.

“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.”

Amazon Teamsters launched 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 expansions have fostered unity among Amazon workers across the country and provided important opportunities to discuss shared struggles, including safety concerns about extreme heat, as the East Coast emerges from its first heat wave of the summer. In Palmdale, summer temperatures regularly exceed 100 degrees.

On the same day that drivers in Palmdale extended their strike, Amazon drivers in Skokie, Illinois, began a strike against unfair labor practices at the company’s DIL7 delivery station. Inspired by the Palmdale workers’ demand for a fair collective bargaining agreement, the 100 Skokie drivers joined forces with Teamsters Local 705 and are now demanding that Amazon recognize their union and negotiate a collective bargaining agreement that provides safe working conditions, good wages and quality healthcare.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. For more information, visit Teamster.org. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.