Workers at two Amazon warehouses in New York have authorized strikes, as they continue to push the e-commerce giant to recognize their union and come to the table to negotiate a collective bargaining deal. 

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters had given Amazon until December 15 to agree to bargaining dates for the workers it represents at both warehouses, one in Staten Island and the other in Queens. The day before that deadline, the Teamsters announced that the two warehouses had "overwhelmingly" authorized strikes. 

“Amazon is pushing its workers closer to the picket line by failing to show them the respect they have earned,” Teamsters president Sean O'Brien said. "We’ve been clear: Amazon has until December 15 to come to the table and bargain for a contract. If these white-collar criminals want to keep breaking the law, they better get ready for a fight.”

Amazon's JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island is the company's first and only facility to successfully unionize, after workers voted in favor of organizing in 2022. Amazon later submitted a legal challenge to JFK8's union election with the National Labor Relations Board, which the NLRB rejected in August 2024. The company has yet to formally recognize the union, and has claimed that pro-union workers at the warehouse and the NLRB illegally interfered with the voting process. Conversely, Amazon has also faced accusations of illegal union busting at facilities across the U.S.