Walk into any Amazon warehouse today, and you’ll likely see the same hum of activity: orange vests darting between conveyor belts, robots whirring across the floor, and the relentless beep of scanners. It looks like business as usual. But if you’ve been scrolling through social media or catching the morning news lately, you might think the entire company has walked off the job.
So, are all amazon workers on strike right now?
The short answer is no. Not even close. Amazon employs roughly 1.5 million people globally. If every single one of them stopped working at once, the global economy would basically face a heart attack. However, the reason you’re hearing so much noise is that the strikes happening right now are different. They are more coordinated, more aggressive, and involve more big-name unions like the Teamsters than we’ve ever seen before.
The Reality of the "Global" Strike
When people ask if everyone is on strike, they’re usually reacting to the "Make Amazon Pay" movement. This is a massive coalition that organizes protests across 30+ countries, usually timed for high-traffic days like Black Friday or Prime Day.
In late 2025 and moving into early 2026, we’ve seen specific, targeted walkouts. It’s not a total shutdown. It’s a series of "rolling strikes." One day it’s a delivery hub in Riverside, California; the next, it’s a sortation center in Bessemer, Alabama, or a facility in Coventry, UK.
Honestly, the goal isn't to stop every package. That’s impossible for a union to pull off right now. The goal is to cause enough "friction" in the gears to force Amazon to the bargaining table.
The Strike Hotspots: Where the Picket Lines Are Real
While most of the 1,500+ facilities in the U.S. are running fine, certain locations are absolute battlegrounds. These aren't just minor gripes; these are full-on contract disputes.
- Staten Island (JFK8): This is the "big one." The Amazon Labor Union (ALU) recently affiliated with the Teamsters. They are fighting for a first contract, and tensions are high. If you see a strike on the news, it's often here.
- Southern California (The "Inland Empire"): Workers at hubs like KSBD in San Bernardino and DJT6 in Riverside have been staging frequent walkouts. In December 2025, a significant group walked off during the 1:00 AM shift to protest "unfair labor practices."
- Northern California and Illinois: Delivery stations in San Francisco and Skokie have seen repeated picketing.
Amazon’s official stance is usually the same. They’ll tell you that "less than 1% of employees" participated. They claim the protesters are "mostly outside agitators." The unions, meanwhile, say thousands are involved and the momentum is growing. The truth? It’s usually somewhere in the middle. You’ve got a core group of dedicated strikers, a larger group of workers who are sympathetic but can't afford to miss a paycheck, and a majority who just want to get through their shift.
Why Are They Striking Anyway?
It’s not just about more money, though $25-$30 an hour is a common demand.
The real friction is about the "Rate." If you’ve ever worked in a warehouse, you know the Rate is the invisible ghost that haunts you. It’s the number of items you have to pick per hour. Workers argue that these metrics are so high they lead to "musculoskeletal injuries"—basically, your body breaks down from doing the same motion 400 times an hour.
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A Senate probe led by Bernie Sanders recently called these conditions "uniquely dangerous." Amazon disagrees, pointing to a multi-million dollar investment in safety tech and ergonomic lockers. It's a classic "he-said, she-said" at a massive corporate scale.
The "Joint Employer" Mess
Here is a detail most people miss: many of the people on strike aren't technically "Amazon employees."
They are drivers for Delivery Service Partners (DSPs). You see them in the blue vans, but their paycheck says "Bob’s Logistics" or something similar. For years, Amazon said, "Hey, not our employees, not our problem."
But in 2024 and 2025, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) started changing the rules. They’ve begun classifying Amazon as a "joint employer." This is a huge deal. It means Amazon might be legally forced to negotiate with drivers, even if they work for a third party. This is why the Teamsters are pouring millions into organizing—they smell blood in the water.
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What Happens to Your Packages?
If you're worried about your 2-day shipping, don't panic. Amazon is a master of logistics. If a warehouse in Queens goes on strike, they just reroute the packages to a facility in New Jersey or Long Island.
The "Network" is designed to be redundant. Unless a strike hits a major "Air Hub"—like the one in Northern Kentucky (KCVG)—you probably won't even notice a delay. The company intentionally builds sites close to each other so they can "load balance" if one site goes down due to weather or, in this case, a walkout.
How to Check if Your Local Warehouse is Affected
If you want to know what’s actually happening on the ground near you, don't look at the national headlines. Look at local labor councils.
- Check the "Make Amazon Pay" map. They keep a live tally of where protests are scheduled.
- Follow local Teamsters chapters. If a strike is authorized, they’ll post the picket times on X (formerly Twitter) or their local websites.
- Watch the WARN notices. Interestingly, Amazon has also filed several WARN notices for layoffs in early 2026 (like the 1,000+ positions in Washington). Sometimes, "strike energy" and "layoff anxiety" happen in the same building at the same time.
The Bottom Line
Are all Amazon workers on strike? No. Is the labor movement at Amazon dead? Also no.
We are in a weird middle ground where the union is testing its strength. They are doing "practice pickets" and short-duration strikes to see how Amazon reacts. It’s a game of chicken. Amazon is betting they can outlast the strikers’ savings accounts. The strikers are betting they can disrupt the "Peak" seasons enough to hurt the stock price.
If you want to support the workers or just stay informed, keep an eye on the JFK8 contract negotiations in New York. Whatever happens there will set the blueprint for every other warehouse in the country. For now, your Prime delivery is probably safe, but the person delivering it might be wearing a union pin under their vest.
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Actionable Next Steps:
- Research your local hub: Use the NLRB’s public search tool to see if there are any "Unfair Labor Practice" (ULP) filings against the Amazon facility in your zip code.
- Monitor the Teamsters "Amazon Division": This is the specific group leading the 2026 push; their updates are more granular than mainstream news.
- Compare the wages: Look at the "Living Wage Calculator" for your specific county. If the gap between the local Amazon starting pay and the living wage is more than $5, expect a strike in that area soon.