Workers at seven Amazon facilities will commence a strike Thursday morning in the final days of the Christmas shopping period.

The labor strike represents an attempt by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to put pressure on the online shopping retailer by threatening to delay some of Amazon’s package deliveries during one of its busiest times of the year. The shift comes after Teamsters officials accused Amazon of failing to arrive to the bargaining table to discuss contracts by ignoring a Dec. 15 deadline the union set.

“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed,” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “These greedy executives had every chance to display decency and regard for the people who make their obscene profits feasible. Instead, they’ve pushed workers to the limit and now they’re paying the worth.”

While the union calls it “the largest strike against Amazon in U.S. history,” Amazon has said the work stoppage is largely not anticipated to leisurely its operations.

Amazon workers authorize strikes in recent York, California, Illinois, Atlanta

The Teamsters represent nearly 10,000 workers at 10 Amazon facilities, which is only about 1% of Amazon’s hourly workforce, Reuters reported.

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Workers voted to authorize the strike as Teamsters had sought for Amazon to recognize the union and commence bargaining with them by last Sunday. The union is fighting for a agreement guaranteeing higher wages and improved work conditions with the strikes, which officials declare could expand beyond the seven initial sites.

As of Thursday morning, the strikes were expected to receive place at sites in recent York City, Atlanta, San Francisco, Skokie, Ill., and Southern California. Teamsters local unions are also putting up picket lines at hundreds of Amazon Fulfillment Centers nationwide, the union said in a Thursday statement.

“Amazon Teamsters at other facilities are prepared to join them,” according to the statement.

Amazon says strike won’t leisurely holiday deliveries

Amazon representatives told CNN Tuesday that the potential strikes would not interrupt holiday business.

The Seattle-based online retailer has repeatedly refused to recognize the union, going so far as to file objections with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Reuters reported. In a previous statement to USA TODAY, an Amazon spokesperson said the strike is not a legitimate representation of its workers.

Many of the workers involved in the work stoppage are drivers, who Amazon has argued are not its employees, but rather work for a third-event business.

“For more than a year now, the Teamsters have continued to intentionally mislead the community – claiming that they represent ‘thousands of Amazon employees and drivers’,” Eileen Hands, a business spokesperson said in the statement. “They don’t, and this is another attempt to push a untrue narrative.”

In a statement to Reuters, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said the Teamsters “attempted to coerce” workers illegally to join the union.

“The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-event drivers to join them, which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labor habit charges against the union,” Nantel said.

Contributing: James Powel, USA TODAY; Reuters

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending information for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]