Should You Stop Buying from Amazon During the Strike? Here's What to Know

It's not an uncommon news headline: Amazon workers are striking. It is a little unusual for the strike to occur just before the biggest retail holiday of the year, but it's not an unheard-of phenomenon. Other strikes against Amazon have achieved limited success in the past.

The question for many people is: Should you stop buying from Amazon during the strike to show solidarity with the striking workers? Here's what the general consensus is and ways you can show your support for the warehouse workers.

In America, striking for better working conditions and higher wages is a time-honored tradition. According to History, tailors led the way, launching the first recorded strike in American history in 1768. Journeyman tailors in New York protested their wages being reduced. A union was formed from the effort, and the tradition has taken hold in a country built on the backs of working-class Americans who often feel their interests are ignored by the corporations employing them.

As Christmas approached in 2024, Amazon workers represented by the Teamsters Union at seven distribution centers organized and launched a strike. Amazon driver Luke Cianciotto said of the strike (per CNN), “We are struggling and fighting for basic benefits and needs that are otherwise an industry standard. Many of us, we don’t have any Christmas presents under the tree this year. The wages and hours we get working for Amazon simply aren’t enough to get by in today’s economy.”

If you feel compelled to support the strikers, can you do it by refusing to buy from Amazon during the strike? Yes. That is a valid way to support striking workers, according to the AFSC. Another way is to show up physically, or honk in support if you come across striking workers. There are often crowdfunds you can contribute to that will help cover lost wages during strikes, and joining unions helps shore up their numbers and therefore bargaining power.

All these and more are valid ways to support strikers and increase the power unions bring to the table when representing disgruntled workers.

However, maybe you're one of the people who doesn't buy from Amazon regularly. Or you do, but you've decided to avoid buying from them during the strike. So what about Amazon Prime Video? It's an Amazon product, but it's not held up by warehouse workers. So where does that fall in the big picture?

Under one Teamsters post about the strike, a user opined that the way to support strikers was, "Don’t shop on Amazon or use any of their services and tell 50 friends the same."

The theory is that the more you avoid spending dollars and sending gestures of support to a corporation, the better it is for workers on strike. Even though Prime Video and the Amazon warehouse workers fall under different umbrellas, the big dollars still funnel towards the parent company of Amazon.

So yes, avoiding Prime Video and any other Amazon services while keeping those engagement numbers down during the strike may be a helpful way to show support.

Every strike is different, and every strike has different goals and practices in mind. Whether or not you align with the striking workers at Amazon, the right to assemble and push for better conditions is part of the backbone of America. Without collective bargaining and the ability to push back against exploitative practices, American workers would still be working six days a week in dangerous conditions.

If you choose to support the workers, you may help by refusing to spend money at Amazon during the strike and avoiding Prime to drive down engagement.

And if you know someone going on strike, they might appreciate a kind word. It may be a power move, but it's a scary one when you don't know what your future will hold.

However, the choice to support a strike is a personal one and should be based on your own beliefs, experiences, and privileges.