How Amazon Combated Worker Solidarity with Racial Conflict

Amazon Labor Union (ALU) members outside of the National Relations Board to deliver signed petitions for an authorized union vote. Photo by Joe Piette.

Nearly three decades after the founding of Amazon, Inc., its workers triumphantly formed the corporation’s first union. Over 2,600 workers at the Staten Island Amazon warehouse, also known as JFK8, voted in favor of establishing the Amazon Labor Union (ALU). Members of the ALU united around their common identity as workers and sought to better their conditions. Their demands include an increased minimum wage of $30 per hour, paid time off for injured workers, a change to current workplace discipline structure, and a shuttle that transports workers to and from the Staten Island Ferry.

Although the Amazon workers of JFK8 triumphed, the corporation still fought back. Brad Moss, one of Amazon’s union busters, attempted to instigate racial conflicts when workers began to unionize. According to Christian Smalls, co-founder and president of the ALU, Moss, while speaking with another group of white Amazon workers, called members of the predominantly Black ALU “thugs” and “Black Lives Matter protestors.” 

Amazon’s intentions to instigate racial conflict grew apparent as the corporation attempted to utilize Black stereotypes to discredit the predominantly Black union. The corporation required workers to attend meetings, which often featured racist anti-union material. Smalls described how workers were shown cartoons depicting ALU members with backward hats and darker skin. Michelle Valentin Nieves, another member of the ALU, also claimed that the sessions—which represented managers in brighter colors like yellow or orange and ALU members in darker colors like purple or blue—were “so racist that it was out of this world.” In leaked meeting notes, Amazon’s general counsel, David Zapolsky, described Smalls—who is a young, Black man with tattoos—as “not smart or articulate” and argued that a smear campaign against him would put Amazon in “a much stronger PR position.” 

Indeed, the media focused on Smalls. However, his appearance did not garner the negative public reaction that Zapolsky anticipated. In contrast, Smalls’ several appearances on renowned news programs gathered unprecedented attention and support for the ALU nationwide. Political officials including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and President Joe Biden voiced open support for the ALU. Likewise, Zapolsky’s characterization of Smalls as “not smart or articulate” was not only inherently derogatory, but also disproved by the multiple interviews and speaking engagements Smalls gave with well-known organizers and universities.

ALU members eluded Amazon’s efforts to racially divide workers by building personal relationships with fellow co-workers of all races. ALU member Angelika Maldonado said that she and other members greeted workers at bus stops with music, invited them to cookouts, and initiated personal conversations, aiming to make the organization process “enjoyable and fun.” The ALU organizers also mentioned that they had several Thanksgiving-like get-togethers to foster closer connections with one another. They would bring foods belonging to their respective cultures, which diminished the racial divisions between members and built solidarity through casual conversation and cross-cultural mingling. As a result, the ALU mitigated Amazon’s efforts to generate racial conflict by discovering a common identity as workers. 

Instead of addressing the concerns of workers, Amazon has only made efforts to protect its image by diversifying its executive workforce. The corporation’s inclusionary facade has contributed to a drop in popular support for unionizing warehouses that strike against racial discrimination. Yet racially unequal pay persists even as the company boasts of its racial inclusivity. From 2018 to 2020, more than 60% of Amazon workers in the United States who were in the corporation’s lowest paid roles were Black or Hispanic. Amazon has yet to release further data since, but recently agreed to release information during the corporation’s 2021 shareholder meeting. 

Multibillion dollar corporations like Amazon utilize racial diversity to combat worker solidarity. When workers begin to unionize, big businesses do not hesitate to weaponize race as a means to divide workers and prevent the formation of unions. Interfering with unions silences workers and furthers exploitation through low wages, substandard working conditions, and prolonged working hours. The ALU succeeded in bringing people of different cultures and ages together through personal conversations, cookouts, music, and genuine connection. As a result, the ALU counteracted Amazon’s attempts to pit workers against one another. Workers must recognize how racial conflict is weaponized by big businesses and, ultimately, unite under a common identity as workers.

In the face of Amazon’s demoralizing union-busting efforts against ALU, labor organizers in separate workplaces should bear in mind how strenuous the process of establishing a union is. Amazon tried to break apart the ALU’s structure through mandatory anti-union meetings and its sense of community through manufactured racial conflict. Nonetheless, members of the ALU recognized that the corporation’s interests contradicted their own values and instead of letting that breed division, they united. Understanding that businesses often resort to unscrupulous means to avoid providing fair wages and better working conditions for their workers is crucial in the fight for a contract. Ending exploitation and mistreatment in the workplace begins with this challenging yet feasible step.     

Christian Gist (CC’25) is a Staff Writer at CPR who studies history and political science. He is interested in worker-employer relations, criminal justice, and African-American studies. He is involved in clubs on campus such as Young Democratic Socialists of America, Student Worker Solidarity, Black Students Organization, and Columbia Men’s Lacrosse. His favorite hobbies are writing poetry, reading, and exploring New York City.