The Teamsters Union is calling it one of the biggest strikes against Amazon in U.S. history.
A small number of Teamsters picketed in front of the driveway at the Amazon facility as dozens of trucks wait to leave, making holiday deliveries.
"Amazon sews a culture of distrust and fear," Teamster Luke Cianciotto said. "That's how they're able to maintain control and power over people and it makes people afraid to stand up for what they believe in."
The Teamsters say they purposely chose the busy season to go on strike.
The Teamsters union said it gave Amazon a December 15 deadline to come to the bargaining table and negotiate a contract with what they call better pay and working conditions. Amazon has refused.
"The amount of work those trucks handle in a day is a lot," Amazon driver Oscar Morales said. "It is not enough for a driver to finish a shift in eight hours. So if you want to finish your shift in eight hours, you have to skip lunch and your 15 minute breaks and sometimes it is more than that."
The Teamsters are striking on the basis of unfair labor practices. They say the company has refused to recognize the union and has no collective contract with the workers who are all technically employees of contractors for the company. Experts say the Teamsters are using this strike to try to encourage more workers to unionize.
"The striking workers say what they do is hard and dangerous work, and they want to be compensated better for it," said Bob Bruno with the University of Illinois.
The union says it represents nearly 10,000 Amazon workers, which is less than one percent of the company's workforce.
Amazon is pushing back against that claim, saying it's not true.
In a statement the company, said, "What you see here are almost entirely outsiders-not Amazon employees or partners-and the suggestion otherwise is just another lie from the Teamsters. The truth is that they were unable to get enough support from our employees and partners and have brought in outsiders to come and harass and intimidate our team"
Amazon said it does not expect the strike to impact operations. The past six years, Amazon says it has boosted its starting minimum wage for fulfillment and transportation employees by 20 percent.
"What we want from the company is higher wages and better, safer working conditions," Teamster Riley Holdwart said.
Experts say it's difficult to predict how long the strike will last. It's unlikely the company will agree to negotiate a contract with the workers, but the workers say they are in it for the long haul.