Originally published Sept. 2, 2022 - updated Sept. 1, 2025

Overview

This Labor Day, ask students to examine the lead-up and response to Amazon workers' efforts in Staten Island, New York, to unionize by three groups of people: lawmakers, the White House and the news media. Then take a look at the latest judge's ruling involving Amazon's lawsuit against the Amazon Labor Union.

According to the New York Times (2024), the Amazon Labor Union elected a new president and three other officer roles. Connor Spence, a co-founder of the A.L.U. and leader of its Democratic Reform Caucus, will serve as the union's new president, following claims that former president Christian Smalls and other union leaders had too much power. Mr. Spence's dissident group brought a lawsuit last year to force leadership elections within the union, for which the two sides reached a settlement, leading to last month's elections.

The A.L.U. has also recently allied with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a large labor union that has agreed to assist the Amazon group in their fight, providing substantial financial and legal resources. The 1.3 million member organization's affiliation will also help organize other Amazon warehouse workers to unite their efforts nationwide.

Union, a documentary about the origin of the Amazon Labor Union premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January, where it won the U.S. Documentary Jury Special Award for Art of Change. The film is set to be released theatrically through a self-distribution deal on October 18 through Level Ground Productions, after failing to be picked up by major distributors such as Prime, Netflix, Max and others. Watch the trailer here.

Ask students: Why do you think that major streaming networks like Netflix were not interested in distributing the documentary?

Activity 1: Background

1. Read this article, Amazon workers in New York City vote to unionize, a first for the company, to understand how and why Amazon workers in Staten Island voted to unionize.

Let students know that after Amazon fired him two years ago, Christian Smalls did indeed become the face of the union movement, as co-founder of the Amazon Labor Union, a grassroots group made up of former and current workers. Learn more with this NPR story here.

1. Read the following two quotes. Ask students: What did you notice? What did the quotes make you think? What questions do you have? Where would you go to learn more?

“This campaign should be the most talked about campaign in the country. … We’re talking about workers. Workers from the bottom who have nothing.” — Christian Smalls, president, Amazon Labor Union, Krystal, Kyle & Friends interview, March 20, 2022

“He’s not smart, or articulate, and to the extent that the press wants to focus on us versus him, we will be in a much stronger PR position than simply explaining for the umpteenth time how we’re trying to protect workers.” — David Zapolsky, Amazon’s general counsel discussing Christian Smalls in leaked meeting notes, VICE News , April 2020

Discuss : Take a moment to jot down some ideas to the following question: What do you think makes a company change how it treats its workers? Why do you think Amazon doesn't want its workers to unionize?

Activity 2: Three reactions to Amazon workers' efforts to unionize

Watch the Krystal, Kyle & Friends clip below featuring Christian Smalls from March 20, 2022, right after Amazon workers in Staten Island voted to unionize. Then answer the questions below analyzing how three different groups responded to Smalls and Amazon workers' efforts to unionize. If time allows, watch the full segment (6m:28s).

Edited for educational purposes only with permission from Kyle, Krystal & Friends.

1. Lawmakers : Politicians who had previously spoken out in support of Amazon workers' rights did not show up for the rally prior to the union vote, according to Smalls.
2. White House : President Joe Biden's task force on unions released a report in February recommending the strengthening of labor unions. Following news of Staten Island's victory, Biden said "Amazon, here we come" at a labor event to the applause of many. But the White House later walked back his remark, which Breaking Points covered here.
3. News media : Christian Smalls discussed how the union vote in Staten Island did not receive the amount of coverage compared to the Amazon plant in Bessemer, Alabama, and had much less funding to help get the word out.

NOTE : Soon after, another vote was held at a second Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, but workers there rejected unionization, leading Amazon to say in a statement, “We look forward to continuing to work directly together as we strive to make every day better for our employees.”

Activity 3 : The fight continues

Soon after the Amazon Labor Union was formed in March 2022, more challenges arose. Amazon filed more than two dozen objections with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), saying the vote was tainted by organizers and Region 29, the NLRB's office in Brooklyn that oversaw the election. At Amazon's request, the case was subsequently transferred to another regional office in Phoenix, Arizona.

On Sept. 2, 2022, a hearing officer for the NLRB rejected Amazon’s attempt to scrap the historic union win. Christian Smalls shared information one of the Amazon Labor Union's latest victories:

Hear multiple perspectives : Practice important media literacy skills! What was Amazon's reaction to the ruling? Check out @AmazonNews on Twitter to see if Amazon posted a reaction to the ruling; check their website to see if they issued any press releases and conduct a web search to see if they gave any interviews to journalists. You may want to start with this piece on NPR.

• Additional resources
  • Listen to The Lever's podcast, Lever Time, with David Sirota featuring guest Evan Osnos, journalist for The New Yorker. "The Grotesque Fruits Of Your Labor: A behind-the-scenes look at what billionaires are buying with the money you made for them." (Sept. 1, 2025). Teacher's note: Language may be suited for older high school students. Transcript included.
  • A look into Amazon’s employee conditions as the company pushes back against unionization (March 2021 - PBS News Hour)
  • Amazon labor vote accelerates organizing efforts nationwide (May 2, 2022 - PBS News Hour)
  • EXCLUSIVE: Christian Smalls REVEALS Amazon Fight Next Steps s (April 2022 - Breaking Points)
  • Fired Starbucks employee says management retaliated against her for pushing union effort (AZCentral.com - April 2022)

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