Exclusive: Amazon Labor Union President Teases Alliance With Walmart Workers
22:22 GMT 07.04.2022 (Updated: 22:29 GMT 07.04.2022)
© REUTERS / MIKE SEGAR
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On April 1, Amazon employees in Staten Island, NY, voted to unionize for the first time in the tech giant’s history. Another vote in Alabama currently favors non unionization but the vote is within the margin of challenged ballots.
Amazon, in its fight against unionization efforts around the country, decided to make Christian Smalls the face of the labor movement. The plan was to create a target they could hit to damage the entire movement. The only problem was that he won. Now Smalls and his allies, fresh off their victory, are working to unionize Amazon facilities around the nation and possibly even other big retailers.
Speaking to Political Misfits, Christian Smalls, the president of the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) that recently won a unionization vote at a facility in Staten Island, NY, teased a potential super union with the workers of Walmart.
Co-host John Kiriakou asked Smalls if he thought the vote in Staten Island was worrying Walmart, which is the second-largest retailer in America after Amazon.
“I can tell you now I got emails from Walmart workers, for sure. Guaranteed. So look out for the Walu, the W-A-L-U.” presumably standing for the Walmart Amazon Labor Union.
It is not clear if Smalls is in any serious talks about forming a joint union with Walmart workers or if they were simply asking him for advice, but the prospect has to be salivating for labor advocates who for years have rallied against alleged exploitative practices by both companies.
Smalls did mention that he has been contacted by Amazon workers across the country asking for advice on how to unionize their facilities.
He has also been talking with Teamsters and the AFL-CIO while in Washington, DC. While he appreciates the support, he is really focused on the Amazon workers around the country.
“The workers are most important. They are paying attention and they want to unionize their facilities. So that’s what I am worried about, the workers.”
There is also the little detail of successfully getting a contract from Amazon now that they have unionized. Workers in other facilities are less likely to join the battle if the ALU cannot successfully get their members more favorable conditions than they had prior to organizing.
“First, we have to fight for a contract. That’s the real battle. We are going to walk and chew at the same time. The election [in Alabama] and the contract. We want to make sure we deliver a contract. That would be the real victory.”
In a speech on Wednesday at North America’s Building Trades Unions Legislative Conference, President Joe Biden seemingly referenced the ALU’s victory in Staten Island. “By the way, Amazon, here we come. Watch. Watch.”
Smalls welcomed the support but wants to make sure it is followed up by action. “That’s good, the highest plateau in the country and he actually mentioned Amazon. That’s great. I wish he would have shouted out the Amazon Labor Union because we are the ones coming for them.” Smalls explained, “They have to pass the Pro Act. And if they don’t pass it, Biden needs to not wait on Congress and pass it through an Executive Order.”
The Pro Act is a reference to the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021, which would prohibit compulsory company meetings that discourage unionization efforts, often called captive audience meetings.
“That would be monumental because we would’ve won possibly by a landslide if they weren’t able to do that,” Smalls said. “They put these workers in classrooms for 20 minutes every single day for the last six or seven months. They are very coercive, they are telling people to vote no. They are taking away their options. It’s suppressing their votes and spreading misinformation, spreading lies. That doesn’t help the workers who are trying to organize.”
The National Labor Relation Board’s general counsel said in a memo on Tuesday that she plans to ask the board to make such meetings a labor violation.
After the Staten Island vote, Amazon said it would fight the legitimacy of the vote in a brief statement.
