Amazon and Starbucks workers are on strike. Trump might have something to do with it

Amazon delivery drivers and Starbucks baristas are on strike in a handful of U.S. cities as they seek to exert pressure on the two major companies to recognize them as unionized employees or to meet demands for an inaugural labor contract.

The strikes that started Thursday and Friday followed other recent standoffs between corporate America and organized labor. Large and established labor unions secured meaningful employer concessions this year following strikes by Boeing factory workers, dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports, video game performers, and hotel and casino workers on the Las Vegas Strip.

But workers at Starbucks, Amazon and some other prominent consumer brands still are fighting for their first contracts. Amazon refuses to acknowledge the organizing efforts of drivers and warehouse workers — many of whom have voted to unionize — even though the powerful Teamsters union says it represents them. Starbucks long resisted the unionization of its stores, but had agreed to negotiate a contract by the end of the year.

Strikes — particularly ones that happen during the holidays, a time of high economic activity — can help unions exercise leverage during negotiations or flex their muscles by garnering support from workers and sympathetic consumers.

Both Amazon and Starbucks saw a wave of organizing efforts following the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic focused attention on front-line workers and the impact of economic inequality on the lives of wage-earning Americans.

Employees organized at bookstores, where unions are rare, and were successful with campaigns at some stores run by Apple, Trader Joe’s and the outdoor equipment company REI.

But turning those wins into contracts can be a challenge. At Amazon and Starbucks, which were not unionized before the pandemic, workers have yet to secure an agreement with the e-commerce and coffee giants, which both have their headquarters in Seattle.

John Logan, director of labor and employment studies at San Francisco State University, said he thinks the Amazon and Starbucks workers are “desperate” to make progress before President-elect Donald Trump gets to appoint a Republican majority to the National Labor Relations Board, which is expected to be less friendly to unions during his administration.

“The unions want to make these disputes public and bring political pressures on the companies," Logan said in a written statement. “If these disputes drag on until next year, and if they are fought largely through the labor board and the courts, the unions and workers will almost certainly lose. This might be their last, best chance to pressure the companies in public before Trump comes into office.”

However, Trump has also given some signs that he might be friendlier to labor during his second term compared to his first term. Last month, he picked Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer to lead the Department of Labor in his new administration, elevating a Republican congresswoman who has strong support from unions, including the Teamsters. Teamsters President Sean O'Brien also spoke at the Republican National Convention this past summer.

The Teamsters say workers at Amazon are striking at seven delivery stations in Southern California, San Francisco, New York City, Atlanta and Skokie, Illinois, because the company ignored a Sunday deadline the union had set for contract negotiations. At midnight on Saturday, the Teamsters say workers will also strike at a prominent warehouse in New York, which voted to join the fledgling Amazon Labor Union in 2022 and have since elected to affiliate with the Teamsters.

The prominent labor group says it's fighting for higher wages, better benefits and safer working conditions for Amazon employees, many of whom experience economic insecurity while working for a company worth $2.3 trillion. It has not said how many Amazon warehouse workers or drivers are joining the striking.

The union has mainly focused on organizing delivery drivers, which the company says are not its workers because they are directly employed by contractors Amazon recruited to handle package deliveries.

That type of setup gives the Amazon more cover from unionization attempts in an industry — transportation and trucking — that’s dominated by the Teamsters. However, the union has argued before the National Labor Relations Board that the drivers, who wear Amazon’s ubiquitous gray-blue vests and drive similarly colored vans, should be classified as company employees.

Meanwhile, the online retailer has accused the union of pushing a “false narrative” about the thousands of workers it claims to represent. Amazon has also touted its pay, saying it provides warehouse and transportation employees a base wage of $22 per hour plus benefits. It also recently boosted hourly pay for the subcontracted delivery drivers.

In September, the NLRB, which has taken a more pro-labor stance under President Joe Biden, filed a complaint that found the drivers to be joint employees of Amazon. The agency also accused Amazon of unlawfully failing to bargain with the Teamsters on a contract for drivers at a California delivery hub.

The Teamsters union says it also represents Amazon warehouse workers, including thousands of employees at the major New York City fulfillment center who voted to be represented by the Amazon Labor Union.

Amazon objected to the 2022 warehouse election results, alleging the Amazon Labor Union and the federal labor board had tainted the vote. A regional NLRB director issued a complaint last year that accused Amazon of violating the law by refusing to bargain with the union.

Amazon, in turn, is challenging the constitutionality of the NLRB in federal court along with Elon Musk's SpaceX. In June, the Supreme Court made it harder for the agency to win court orders in labor disputes, siding with Starbucks in a case brought by the company.

Unlike Amazon, contract negotiation have been underway at Starbucks.

But Starbucks Workers United, the union that has organized workers at 535 company-owned U.S. stores since 2021, said the company has failed to honor a commitment made in February to reach a labor agreement this year.

The union also wants Starbucks to resolve outstanding legal issues, including hundreds of unfair labor practice charges that workers have filed with the National Labor Relations Board. The agency also has opened or settled hundreds of charges against Amazon.

In launching the strikes that started Friday in Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle, Workers United said Starbucks proposed an economic package with no new wage increases for unionized baristas now and a 1.5% increase in future years.

Union leaders said the strikes expanded on Saturday to include stores in Denver, Pittsburgh and Columbus Ohio with plans for baristas to join the picket lines in New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis on Sunday.

Without providing a specific number, labor leaders said dozens of Starbucks stores are now affected by the strike.

Starbucks said Workers United prematurely ended a bargaining session this week. The company also says it already offers pay and benefits worth $30 per hour for baristas who work at least 20 hours per week.

Starbucks workers walked off the job on two occasions last year. Workers United has said the latest strikes could spread to hundreds of stores across the country by Christmas Eve.

Patricia Campos-Medina, who recently ran for the U.S. Senate as a Democrat in New Jersey and leads Cornell University's Worker Institute at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, said she expects there to be more union activity before Trump takes office.

Trump's reactions will give the public a chance to see what his “commitments are to the working class,” Campos-Medina said.

Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit contributed to this story.

Amazon workers and members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters picket in front of the Amazon fulfillment center in the Queens borough of New York, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Amazon workers and members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters picket in front of the Amazon fulfilment center in the Queens borough of in New York, on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Amazon workers and members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters picket in front of the Amazon fulfillment center in the Queens borough of New York, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Amazon workers strike outside the gates of an Amazon Fulfillment Center as Teamsters seek labor contract nationwide Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in City of Industry, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Amazon workers strike outside the gates of an Amazon Fulfillment Center as Teamsters seek labor contract nationwide Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in City of Industry, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A closed store sign is seen in the window of a Starbucks as workers picket outside the location on company Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Burbank, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Starbucks baristas and other workers start a five-day strike to protest a lack of progress in contract negotiations with the company Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Burbank, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Starbuck workers picket outside of a closed Starbucks on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Burbank, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A pro-union demonstrator marches outside an Amazon warehouse, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Alpharetta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

A supporter waving a Teamster flag rides past Amazon workers striking outside the gates of an Amazon Fulfillment Center on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in City of Industry, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Sean O'Brien, General president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters joins other Amazon workers during a strike outside the gates of an Amazon Fulfillment Center Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in City of Industry, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Starbuck workers picket outside of a closed Starbucks on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Burbank, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Amazon workers and members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters picket in front of the Amazon fulfilment center in the Queens borough of in New York, on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

WASHINGTON (AP) — After days of threats and demands, Donald Trump had little to show for it once lawmakers passed a budget deal in the early hours of Saturday, narrowly averting a pre-Christmas government shutdown.

The president-elect successfully pushed House Republicans to jettison some spending, but he failed to achieve his central goal of raising the debt limit. It demonstrated that despite his decisive election victory and frequent promises of retribution, many members of his party are still willing to openly defy him.

Trump’s decision to inject himself into the budget debate a month before his inauguration also showed that he remains more adept at blowing up deals than making them, and it foreshadowed that his second term will likely be marked by the same infighting, chaos and brinksmanship that characterized his first.

“Stay tuned. Buckle up. Strap in,” said Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., a senior appropriator.

A glance at Trump’s agenda shows a cascade of opportunities for similar showdowns in the years to come. He wants to extend tax cuts that he signed into law seven years ago, slash the size of government, increase tariffs on imports and crack down on illegal immigrants. Many of those efforts will need congressional buy-in.

For many of Trump’s supporters, disruption could be its own goal. Thirty-seven percent of those who voted for him this year said they wanted “complete and total upheaval,” according to AP VoteCast, a broad survey of more than 120,000 voters. An additional 56% said they wanted “substantial change.”

But the past few days made clear the difficulty Trump could face in quickly fulfilling his goals, especially with Republicans holding only thin majorities in the House and the Senate. Some lawmakers already seem weary of the apparent lack of a unified strategy.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said the budget battle was “a valuable lesson in how to get our act together.”

“There are no layups and it gets more complicated," he said.

The trouble started when top lawmakers released a copy of the bill, known as a continuing resolution, that was required to keep the federal government functioning until March. It wasn't the president-elect but Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a Trump confidant, who first began whipping up opposition to the legislation on social media by calling it excessive spending.

Trump eventually waded into the fight. He ordered Republicans to cancel the bipartisan deal they had made with Democrats. And he demanded they increase the debt limit — the cap on how much the government can borrow — in hopes of preventing that thorny issue from coming up while he is in charge of the government.

He ratcheted up the pressure even as his demands shifted. First he wanted to eliminate the debt limit altogether. Then he wanted to suspend it until 2027. Then he floated an extension until 2029.

If there was a shutdown, Democratic President Joe Biden would take the blame, Trump insisted.

“All Republicans, and even the Democrats, should do what is best for our Country, and vote “YES” for this Bill, TONIGHT!” Trump wrote Thursday, before a vote on a version of the bill that included a higher debt limit.

Instead, 38 Republicans voted no. It was a stunning brush-off to Trump, whose power over his party has at times seemed near-absolute.

"Without this, we should never make a deal," he wrote on Truth Social, his social media site.

If he didn’t get what he wanted, Trump said, there should be a government shutdown. He also said members of his own party would face primary challenges if they refused to go along, saying “Republican obstructionists have to be done away with." He singled out Rep. Chip Roy of Texas by name and with insults.

But in the end, lawmakers left out that debt ceiling increase, and a final deal passed early Saturday.

Musk and other Trump allies tried to frame it as a win because the final legislation was significantly slimmed down and omitted unpopular items such as a pay raise for members of Congress. Charlie Kirk, the prominent conservative activist, wrote on X that Trump “is already running Congress before he takes office!”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he had been in “constant contact” with Trump, who, he added was "certainly happy about this outcome.”

If Trump agreed, he didn’t say so himself.

After days of frequent social media messages, Trump again went silent on Friday. He did not offer a reaction to the final vote or issue any statements. Instead, he went golfing at his Florida resort.

Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump, said the president-elect helped prevent an original deal “full of Democrat pork and pay raises for members of Congress.”

“In January, President Trump and DOGE will continue this important mission to cut the waste out of Washington, one bill at a time,” she said. DOGE is a reference to the Department of Government Efficiency, an advisory panel that will be led by Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

The circus-like atmosphere of the funding fight was reminiscent of Trump’s first term. Back then, one budget standoff led to a government shutdown when Trump demanded money for his U.S.-Mexico border wall. After 35 days — the longest shutdown in history — he agreed to a deal without the money he wanted.

It was a political low point for Trump, and 60% of Americans blamed him for the shutdown, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll at the time.

Trump didn't stop trying to bend Republicans to his will then. He's certainly not going to do so now.

He cranking up the pressure on his own party over his Cabinet picks, pushing reluctant Republican senators to get on board with some of his most controversial choices, such as anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary and Fox News host Pete Hegseth as defense secretary.

The spending debates next year seem certain to further test Trump's influence in the House. Many conservatives view the rapid growth of the federal debt as an existential threat to the country that must be addressed. But some Republicans fear a voter backlash if steep cuts are made to federal programs upon which Americans rely.

Concerns about deficit spending could intensify if Trump pushes expensive tax cuts that he promised during the campaign, such as eliminating taxes on tips, Social Security and overtime pay.

He also wants to extend the tax cuts he signed into law in 2017 that are set to expire next year. He has called for further lowering the U.S. corporate tax rate from 21% to 15%, but only for companies that produce in the United States.

Trump has said he will pay for the dips in revenue with aggressive new tariffs that economists warn will lead to higher prices for consumers.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, said reducing spending would likely continue to be a gulf between Trump and House Republicans.

“That’s never been really a campaign promise of Trump, but it’s a big priority for House Republicans,” he said.

There was no sense that the animosity was dying down on Saturday. Some Republicans faulted the House leadership for not securing Trump's “blessing" on the original deal. Democrats cast Trump as second fiddle to Musk.

While Trump stayed quiet, Biden announced that he signed the budget legislation.

"This agreement represents a compromise, which means neither side got everything it wanted," he said. “But it rejects the accelerated pathway to a tax cut for billionaires that Republicans sought, and it ensures the government can continue to operate at full capacity.”

FILE - President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, file)

The Capitol is pictured in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

FILE - Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, left, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump attend a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE—Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., takes questions from reporters after presenting his final version of an interim pending bill to his caucus, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. President-elect Donald Trump has now abruptly rejected the bipartisan plan to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown. Instead, he's telling House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans to essentially renegotiate — days before a deadline when federal funding runs out. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

A Coast Guard patrol boat cruises near Mar-a-Lago, President-elect Donald Trump's Palm Beach home, in Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

FILE - Elon Musk speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with the House GOP conference, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington. (Allison Robbert/Pool Photo via AP, File)