Teamsters Picket Amazon Warehouse In Chicago

CHICAGO — Amazon drivers picketed Tuesday at a warehouse in Chicago as part of a campaign that began in California and has since expanded across the country.

The picket at the DXH5 warehouse in the 3500 block of South Ashland Avenue is the latest in a strike by drivers from a Palmdale, California, delivery station that has led to demonstrations at 25 warehouses, including in Michigan, Georgia and several states along the East Coast.

"We are all living paycheck to paycheck. We have to deal with unsafe vans, aggressive dogs, and exhausting workloads, but all Amazon cares about is whether the package got delivered," Heath Lopez, an Amazon driver from Palmdale and a member of Teamsters Local 396, said in a news release.

"Each time we extend our picket line to a new warehouse, more and more Amazon workers join the fight. We will keep expanding this unfair labor practice strike until Amazon takes responsibility for our working conditions.”

The 84 Palmdale drivers organized in April with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, becoming the first union of Amazon drivers in the country. As members of Local 396, they bargained a contract with Amazon delivery service partner Battle-Tested Strategies, but Amazon has refused to recognize and honor the contract, according to the Teamsters.

“This gathering, which does not include Amazon employees and is mostly attended by outside activists, has had no impact on our operations or ability to deliver for our customers,” Amazon spokesperson Eileen Hards said in a prepared statement in response to the Chicago picket. “Instead, the Teamsters continue to fuel the spread of misinformation regarding a company that no longer delivers for Amazon.”

Local 396 has accused Amazon of unfair labor practices in violation of federal law, including terminating the unit of newly organized workers. Among the Palmdale drivers’ concerns are delivering in the extreme heat of Southern California, as well as maintaining the right to safe equipment and to unsafe delivery refusal, both of which are in the union contract, according to the Teamsters.