What is it that makes a worker essential? This is the question that Chris Smalls and hundreds of thousands of Amazon workers had to ask as they found themselves working long hours in unsafe conditions at the height of the pandemic, having been deemed 'essential.' But when Chris, who was responsible for training thousands of other employees and upper manageme ... Show More
Apr 2022
Same-Day Solidarity At Amazon with Chris Smalls
<p>Amazon warehouse workers in Staten Island, New York, voted to form the company’s first union in the U.S. last Friday, making a historic win for labor organizers everywhere. The union earned recognition in less than a year into its existence, and it overcame multiple arrests as ... Show More
17m 20s
May 2020
I Was Fired From An Amazon Warehouse
Christian Smalls is a former worker at JFK8, Amazon's Staten Island warehouse. Last month, he was fired hours after he staged a walkout over safer working conditions. Chris talks about what he saw inside the warehouse during the coronavirus outbreak, his moves to organize, and wh ... Show More
13m 1s
Apr 2022
How Two Friends Beat Amazon and Built a Union
<p><i>This episode contains strong language. </i></p><p>A year and a half ago, the Times journalists Jodi Kantor and Karen Weise began examining labor practices at Amazon.</p><p>In the process, they met Christian Smalls and Derrick Palmer, two Amazon workers at a warehouse in New ... Show More
54 m
Dec 2021
Amazon and the Labor Shortage
<p>Amazon is constantly hiring. Data has shown that the company has had a turnover rate of about 150 percent a year.</p><p>For the founder, Jeff Bezos, worker retention was not important, and the company built systems that didn’t require skilled workers or extensive training — it ... Show More
26m 15s