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.

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

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.

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.

Striking Amazon and Starbucks workers in California and elsewhere have long pushed for union contracts. The Trump administration is unlikely to be on their side.

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,