Amazon workers go on strike as company claims union extortion

The Teamsters union announced that, this Thursday morning, Amazon employees across the country took to the streets in protest. The union said that some 10,000 people joined in New York, Georgia, California and Illinois, while many more workers are preparing to do so.

The strike comes just days before Christmas, a time of high income for the company's online market. The Teamsters wanted to leverage of the time of year: "If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed," said union President Sean M. O'Brien.

The strikers are protesting wages at what they stress is the second-largest corporation on the Fortune 500 list. In addition to higher wages, they are demanding better benefits overall and safer working conditions.

Amazon speaks out against Teamsters

The company claimed that the Teamsters coerced workers to leave their jobs, according to a statement picked up by ABC News.

The union, it detailed, had "actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees, ... which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labor practice charges against the union."

"For more than a year now, the Teamsters have continued to intentionally mislead the public – claiming that they represent 'thousands of Amazon employees and drivers,'" said spokeswoman Kelly Nantel. "They don't, and this is another attempt to push a false narrative."

Nantel claimed the tech company had raised the minimum wage for its carriers and fulfillment center employees by 20%, and in September raised the average base wage to $22 per hour. In addition, in a statement to Fox News, the spokeswoman assured that the strike would not affect its operations.

The company's Staten Island, N.Y., headquarters was the first to unionize, after its employees voted to do so. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) officially certified the union, but Amazon responded by suing the board, questioning its constitutionality.