American senators were harshly criticized by President Christian Smalls of Amazon Labor Union (ALU), for failing to protect Amazon from criticisms Information about its illegal labor practicesAt a Senate Budget Committee hearingOn Thursday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), was the leader.
After Sanders delivered his opening speech, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) went on a tirade about how he thinks the independent Senator’s stances on the issues of Amazon illegally union busting and support of the labor movement in general are too politicized — even though Republicans dubiously claimto be the party that represents the working class. Graham said that it’s “very dangerous” that Sanders and the committee have determined Amazon to be, in Graham’s own words, “a piece of crap company.”
The hearing was to determine if companies that have violated federal labor laws should be allowed to contract for the federal government.
When Smalls began his testimony, he directly addressed Graham’s remarks.
“First of all, I want to address Mr. Graham. It sounds like you were talking about more of the companies and the businesses in your speech, but you forgot that the people are the ones who make these companies operate,” Smalls said. “And when we’re not protected, and when the process for holding these companies accountable is not working for us — that’s the reason why we’re here today.”
Smalls went on to say that it’s not “a Democrat or Republican thing. It’s a workers thing.” He reminded Graham that he is also supposed to represent the interest of workers who may be abused by companies in his state.
Later in the hearing, Graham said that it’s unfair for the $1.2 trillion company to discuss their illegal conduct when there’s a legal system to file complaints about unfair labor practices — though Labor experts generally agree that the system’s lax punishments for breaking labor laws fail to deter union busting.
Graham asked Smalls whether he had ever filed any legal complaints against the company. “You had a process where somebody could advocate for your interest,” Graham said.
“There is a process that’s not working,” Smalls replied.
“Well that’s your opinion,” Graham quipped.
“That’s a fact,” Smalls said.
Amazon threatened to make workers and union organizers suffer abusive conditions. ALU was organizing two New York City Warehouses in Staten Island. Smalls did not stop there. They were subject to traumatizing intimidation as well as coercion tactics as part the company’s multimillion dollar union-busting campaign. At one point Smalls and other organizers were arrestedAfter Amazon called police, the group handed out food to workers.
Amazon is facing charges of illegal union busting from National Labor Relations Board. However, lax labor laws permit the company to get away a lot of union busting moves, legal or not, while facing very little consequence. Sanders has asked President Joe Biden to cancel Amazon’s contracts with the federal government until the company stops union busting, but there’s no word from Biden yet on the request.
“We want to feel that the government is allowing us to use our constitutional rights to organize,” Smalls said. “The notion that people united in this democracy will outmatch tyranny is the oldest American ideal.” And though workers won the union at the JFK8 Amazon warehouseDespite being legally required to, Amazon refuses to negotiate with workers.
“To me, it just sounds like the corporations have the control, and they control whatever they want. They break the law, they get away with it — they know that already, that breaking the law during these election campaigns won’t be resolved during the election campaigns. So they purposely continue to break the law,” Smalls said, saying that the union had filed 40 unfair labor practices during the campaign. He stated that even though many of these allegations were valid, the victims have not been granted relief.
Smalls urged Congress to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO) Act. This would make it easier for workers to form a Union.
