Amazon workers in several cities across the United States plan to strike on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the holiday season. Several unions are joining forces in the U.S. and at least 20 other countries for Make Amazon Pay days starting Black Friday and running through Cyber Monday.

“Amazon’s relentless pursuit of profit comes at a cost to workers, the environment and democracy,” UNI Global Union General Secretary Christy Hoffman said in a statement Monday. Her group is one of several that are joining forces to strike at facilities that make products sold through the website or to demonstrate at Amazon offices.

Now in its fifth year, Make Amazon Pay Day is “becoming a global act of resistance against Amazon’s abuse of power,” Hoffman said.

This is the first year the annual protest will run four consecutive days. Shoppers this season are expected to spend 56% of their budget on Black Friday weekend — up from 47% in 2023, according to a new survey from the Deloitte Insights Consumer Industry Center. Despite cooling inflation, buyers are looking for deals to stretch their dollars.

Amazon typically captures about 40-50% of all online holiday sales. A labor strike for the entire weekend is intended to force the world’s largest e-commerce site to improve workers’ pay and respect their right to organize. Only a handful of U.S. Amazon workers are currently in unions, including warehouse employees in New York City and San Francisco. 

“These groups represent a variety of interests, and while we’re always listening and looking at ways to improve, we remain proud of the competitive pay, comprehensive benefits, and engaging, safe work experience we provide our teams,” Amazon spokesperson Eileen Hards told Spectrum News.