JOHN,

I wanted to make sure you saw the message below from Chris Smalls, the President of the Amazon Labor Union.

Last year, Amazon warehouse workers on Staten Island became the first Amazon workers in the U.S. to form a union. But now, Amazon is refusing to negotiate a fair contract.

Stand in solidarity with Amazon workers―and workers across the country fighting for the right to fair wages and benefits. Add your name to demand Amazon come to the bargaining table and work out a fair contract with the Amazon Labor Union.

I have seen firsthand the positive impacts that labor unions have on workers, families, and communities. When I was a child, my father joined the United Auto Workers union and was able to provide for our family—including ensuring we had health insurance for the first time.

Unions are critical to building a strong middle class. All Amazon warehouse workers are asking for is a fair contract that keeps them safe on the job and allows them to support themselves and their families.

Fight back against greedy billion-dollar union-busting corporations. Add your name to demand Amazon negotiate a fair contract with the Amazon Labor Union.

In solidarity,

Rashida,

-- CHRIS’S EMAIL --

JOHN,

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.

Will you sign our petition, demanding that Amazon recognize the Amazon Labor Union and sit down and bargain for fair wages, safe working conditions, and benefits we can live on?

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