Teamsters picket Amazon on both coasts over alleged illegal firings

Amazon warehouse pickets spread from Los Angeles to Queens as the Teamsters pressed an illegal-firings fight that has become a test of how far logistics employers can go when workers speak up. On April 24, the union said it was picketing Amazon facilities on both coasts and extending an unfair labor practice strike from DAX7 in Los Angeles to DBK4 in Queens, New York.

The Teamsters said 10,000 Amazon workers have organized with the union at 13 facilities nationwide and are demanding higher wages, better safety, improved benefits and job security. That mix matters: the dispute is not just about pay, but about whether workers can organize without losing hours, time off or their jobs.

This was not the first flash point. Teamsters said the retaliation fight had been building for years, including a December 2024 strike by workers at seven U.S. delivery hubs. It also led to a March 31, 2026 settlement in which Amazon agreed to restore improperly docked unpaid time off and post notices at all 1,300 of its U.S. facilities telling workers about their right to strike and organize. The union said the National Labor Relations Board complaint covered workers who feared losing their jobs or unpaid time off for taking strike action.

For Dollar General workers, the Amazon fight lands in familiar territory. Both companies sit inside the same logistics chain, where warehouses, drivers and stores depend on steady labor and where retaliation fears can shape whether employees raise safety issues, challenge schedules or back an organizing campaign. If a major fulfillment employer is being pushed to restore unpaid time off and post notices about organizing rights, that is a warning sign for a sector built on thin margins and tight labor control.

Dollar General has faced its own safety scrutiny. On July 11, 2024, OSHA and Dollar General announced a corporate-wide settlement requiring safety improvements in stores nationwide, after the U.S. Department of Labor said OSHA had proposed more than $3.3 million in penalties in 54 inspections since 2016. The hazards cited included blocked electrical panels, obstructed exits, forklift problems, housekeeping failures and sanitation issues.

Recent reporting on Dollar General worker organizing has also pointed to chronic understaffing, low pay and safety concerns in communities that depend on the stores. That is why the Amazon pickets matter beyond one employer. In logistics and discount retail alike, the fight is increasingly over whether workers can report hazards, organize and keep their jobs, not just whether they get a raise.