The leader of the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), Christian Smalls, has criticized the Democratic Party for not doing enough to improve the working conditions and wages of American workers.
What Happened: Smalls, who led the successful unionization of an Amazon.com Inc warehouse in Staten Island, expressed his concerns about the lack of progress in federal labor laws during the "Touré Show" at SXSW, the Austin technology and culture festival, reported The Hill on Tuesday.
“We’ve seen over the last few years, the uprise and the resurgence of labor, which is great,” Smalls said.
“But when we think about the federal laws that haven’t been touched since the 1930s, since the Great Depression — it doesn’t add up.”
"I met [Biden], I met a lot of these politicians that we thought would be looking out for the working class. And y'all — there ain't no cavalry coming. I met with Joe Biden for an hour, and I don't remember the conversation — it was that bad. When I left the White House, I felt empty."
Why It Matters: Smalls’ comments come in the wake of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos reclaiming his title as the world’s richest man and the slow progress of the ALU’s expansion efforts.
Smalls, however, has faced criticism from some members of the ALU’s executive board for his leadership style, which they described as disorganized and authoritarian.
Meanwhile, Amazon’s labor practices have been under scrutiny for some time. In 2023, the company was found guilty by a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) judge of violating federal labor laws at its JFK8 warehouse in New York.
In response to the NLRB’s allegations, Amazon filed a legal complaint, arguing that the agency’s actions were unconstitutional. This move aligned Amazon with other companies, including SpaceX and Trader Joe‘s, who had also criticized the NLRB’s practices.
Despite these challenges, Amazon has continued to attract workers with its pay rates, which have been reportedly higher than those offered by potential unionized employers.
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