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On Tuesday, the unions of the North Alabama Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO, released a statement announcing their solidarity with Starbucks and Amazon workers who went on strike just before the Christmas holiday.
“The unions of the North Alabama Area Labor Council (NAALC), AFL-CIO, stand united in our solidarity with strike actions being taken across the country – including right here in North Alabama – against the corporate behemoths and white collar crime syndicates of Amazon and Starbucks,” reads the official press release.
The NAALC called out Amazon for refusing to bargain with their unionized employees and for “illegally intimidating and discouraging unionization.”
The unions also pointed out that “despite Amazon being a $2 trillion company,” 56 percent of Amazon workers report being unable to pay their bills, 53 percent experience food insecurity, and 48 percent experience housing insecurity.
“That level of greed and disrespect should appall us. It is for these reasons that unionized Amazon workers are striking across the country, and that Teamsters are extending picket lines even further to some not-yet-unionized warehouses,” the release continued.
In North Alabama, the Teamsters have extended picket lines to Amazon facilities in Huntsville, “delaying some shipments and letting the workers here know their rights, and encouraging them to join the nationwide movement to organize Amazon.” The NAALC statement encourages North Alabama Amazon workers to “heed the call” and unionize.
Starbucks workers in Alabama are also taking part in a nationwide strike, with Starbucks Workers United announcing a five-day unfair labor practice strike on Dec. 19 in response to inadequate wage increases.
“At Starbucks, over 11,000 workers at over 500 locations are now unionized with Starbucks Workers United. Starbucks continues to slow walk negotiations and refuse to agree to real raises for workers,” reads the NAALC release. “While CEO Brian Niccol makes $57,000 an hour, Starbucks workers struggle to get by. It is for these reasons that Starbucks workers went on strike beginning on Friday, December 20, beginning in 3 markets, expanding to union locations across the country by today, December 24.”
Starbucks management recently announced that workers will only be receiving raises of two to three percent in 2025, while CEO Brian Niccol receives a more than $110 million compensation package.
Starbucks workers in Scottsboro, Ala. joined the strike on Tuesday. The Scottsboro location was the second store in Alabama to unionize and the first to go on strike earlier this year.
“North Alabama’s unions encourage North Alabama Starbucks workers to join the their sisters and brothers in Scottsboro and fight together for higher wages, better working conditions, and a voice on the job,” the NAALC statement continued.
“I was proud to join the Teamsters on the picket line last Friday, and I’m proud to be on the picket line with Starbucks Workers United today,” added NAALC President Jacob Morrison, a member of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 1858. “Without our labor, these corporations would be nothing. The sooner that all workers – not just at Starbucks and Amazon, but everywhere – realize our power, the sooner we will be able to build a better Alabama, and a better country, where all working class people can live a dignified life, with high wages, decent healthcare, and a secure retirement.”
