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 Amazon delivery strike began on Dec. 19 and ended on Christmas Eve, while the Starbucks strike began Dec. 20, and ended on Christmas.

Striking Amazon and Starbucks workers are on picket lines instead of delivering last-minute presents or handing customers Christmas-themed drinks, as their unions pressure the companies during the hol

Why are Amazon and Starbucks workers striking over the holidays? “This is a time when both companies make a lot of money,” one expert said.

Less than a week before Christmas, Amazon and Starbucks employees are striking as their respective companies refuse to meet union demands.

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.

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.

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.

The Starbucks workers' strike continues to grow. Here in Memphis, the Action News 5 crew caught a group of Starbucks employees striking outside the store in Poplar Plaza, near the University of Memphis,