Amazon workers in the US could go on strike before Christmas after members of the Teamsters union voted for industrial action.

The workers say the online retail giant has refused to recognize their union and ignored a Dec. 15 deadline to negotiate their contract.

According to a statement from Teamsters, Amazon facilities in Southern California, New York and Illinois could be affected.

“The corporate elites who run Amazon are giving workers no choice,” said Teamsters General President Sean M O’Brien.

“Amazon must be held accountable to workers and consumers alike. If workers are forced onto the picket lines, Amazon will strike itself,” he added.

The union said it represents thousands of workers at 10 Amazon facilities in the United States.

But an Amazon spokeswoman, Eileen Hards, said the union “continued to intentionally mislead the public by claiming it represents ‘thousands of Amazon employees and drivers.’ That’s not the case.”

“The Teamsters actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to force Amazon employees and third-party drivers to provide rides, which is illegal,” she added.

Earlier this week, a Congressional investigation concluded that the e-commerce giant is pushing its U.S. warehouse workers to fill orders at a rate that could lead to high injury rates.

The investigation, led by Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders, also found that the company had refused to implement changes to improve safety because of concerns about its profits.

Amazon said the report was “factually incorrect” and contained “selective, outdated information that lacks context and is not based in reality.”

The company, which employs around 800,000 people in the US, has faced allegations of unsafe conditions in its warehouses for years.

These concerns intensified during the Covid pandemic as e-commerce exploded, leading to protests by its workers around the world.

Amid the controversy, founder Jeff Bezos said the company needed to improve its employees.

Senator Sanders, known for his pro-worker stance, launched an investigation into Amazon’s practices in June 2023. Senate staff conducted 135 interviews and reviewed more than 1,000 documents.

Their analysis of public records found that Amazon-operated warehouses experienced over 30% more injuries in 2023 than the warehouse industry average.