I’m Chris Smalls, President of the Amazon Labor Union.
Last year, our union made history at the JFK8 fulfillment center on Staten Island, when we became the first American Amazon Warehouse to win a union election.
We organized for over a year. Amazon spent that year spending more than a million dollars trying to fight our union. They had us arrested for organizing at a bus stop that warehouse workers take to work. We weren’t breaking any law, but the cops arrested us anyway.
In truth, Amazon is the one who broke the law during this organizing campaign. We filed over 400 unfair labor practice complaints with the National Labor Relations Board. They did so knowingly, because they know that by the time they’re punished or fined, the organizing campaign is over and they assume that they will have won.
We spent 11 months inside, outside the building, at the bus stop, earning the trust of these workers, building relationships, creating GoFundMes for people that were fired―people that were homeless, living in shelters, unable to pay their bills. We fed people. We built community. And on Staten Island, we won.
That’s the stuff that the press covered. But when the cameras moved on, we’ve still been here. But instead of accepting that we won, Amazon moved on to Phase 2 of their union-busting campaign: Stalling.
Instead of coming to the bargaining table, they filed 25 bogus objections with the NLRB, seeking to throw out our ballots or decertify the union election. Amazon Labor Union has our own Phase 2: that’s where you come in.
Remember: Jeff Bezos isn’t the one who packs your packages. The workers do. This is not a left or right thing. It’s not Democrats and Republicans. It’s a workers thing.
Solidarity forever,
Chris Smalls
President
Amazon Labor Union