♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -This stop is Chelsea Avenue and Bloomfield Avenue.

♪♪ Next stop, Fifth Street and Amazon Fulfillment Center.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -5, 4, command a new start, 2, 1... -This is the first human test flight for Blue Origin.

And on board, billionaire Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.

As we are tracking this huge flight for you today.

[ Whooshing ] Still exciting to hear that sound, Nicole.

-I've got goose bumps here.

I wish I were on that.

-[ Laughs ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -What you like?

A burger or hot dog?

-I'll take a burger.

-Sure.

-Wait.

Are you Smalls?

-Yes.

-Wait.

You're, like, low-key famous, no?

[ Laughs ] -Low-key?

High-key.

I've been on "Dr.

Phil."

I've been on CNN.

I've been on "60 Minutes," Fox News.

I've been everywhere.

-That is cool.

-I'm here as a volunteer.

That's why, you know, people don't ask questions.

They just walk past us every day.

Don't -- Come ask questions.

Don't just assume, you know?

-People are scared.

I was low-key scared.

-Scared of what?

I'm the one who got fired.

Everybody else got their job.

He was with me day one, you know?

Like, everybody else is still here.

I'm the one that got fired because I did the protest here last year.

David Zapolsky, the top general counsel for Amazon, said that -- pretty much that I'm not smart or articulate to make me the whole face of the unionizing efforts against Amazon.

They'll be in a better PR position than to answer questions about health and safety for the umpteenth time.

It's like, "What?"

It said, "Make Smalls the most interesting topic," or something like that, and then, at the bottom, it says like, "General board agrees."

So that means like everybody, including Jeff Bezos, in the room agreed on that.

That's like, wow.

Like, yo, that's crazy.

-That's another question I have.

Okay, so, suppose we do get a union.

How would you play a part in this?

-I'm the president.

Like, already.

-Also, so, there's a provision in our constitution -- so, people who are wrongfully terminated by Amazon, they don't get forced out of the union.

So after we win the election here, everybody's got to, like, re-vote on it.

-You got to re-vote so y'all can have a chance to vote again for who y'all think run as president, vice president.

-Angie, did you just join today?

-Yeah.

So, I was leaving and I was waiting right there by the bus stop, and Connor... -Yeah.

-...came up to me and he asked me -- He told me about what was going on, and yeah.

-What department were you in?

-Packing.

-But you worked at nights, right?

Night shift.

-Nights.

Are you daytime?

-No.

I'm on day shift.

-Hey, what's up, bro?

-I just got fired, but... -Really?

-Yeah.

But what's the name?

I'm going to get the -- -Appeal?

-Appeal, yeah.

What happened was is that they didn't let me know certain things, so I got fired for it.

-What happened?

-But you know how it is.

It's hard to, like, clock in.

No, they were saying pretty much because I wasn't clocking in with my card directly through the gate, but the thing is is that it's too many people -- -They said that you were stealing company time?

-Huh?

They said I was stealing company's time and stuff like that.

-That's... but do the appeals packet.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

I was going to get the card from you guys, because I know that you said, like, I can reach out to -- -Yeah.

-Right.

-Yeah, just let me know when you get the packet and don't fill it out until you talk to me.

-Alright, got it.

No problem.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

-So, we've been forming sort of like a workplace committee.

Derrick Palmer -- he's still employed there.

We got some other Amazon employees that have been talking about unionizing that work there, and we talk to them all the time.

We are ready to either decide to go independent or we're ready to sign on to any union that wants to represent that building.

Kevin.

-I happen to be a current Amazon worker at JFK8, too.

-Nice to meet you, bro.

-And I'm looking forward to this, because the pay and the work conditions are totally a nightmare, you know.

I don't even talk about this in the building, because I don't know who I can trust yet.

That's why I had to do this on a very low... -What shift do you work?

-7:15 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. -Derrick, you got him.

Kevin, meet Derrick.

Derrick, meet Kevin.

-Yeah.

-We got you.

Talk to Derrick, and that's it right there.

What department are you in, Kevin?

-Well, right now, I work in the picking department.

-Damn, you probably would've been one of mine, man.

I would've been -- Damn, man!

I would've been your supervisor.

Sorry, brother, you ain't have the pleasure, man.

But just stick it out, man.

Stick it out.

Stick with us.

We'll support you, man.

-Believe me, I'm trying to sweat it out, because I feel like a slave in there.

I mean -- -Oh, I know.

We got you, Kevin.

[ Alarm ringing ] -It's 5:00 a.m. [ Ringing continues ] [ Ringing stops ] -Union literature for Amazon.

-Union, union, union, union.

Amazon union.

There you go.

-Pray for them.

-I'm trying to tell you, they're in a rush to get home.

They're ready to go.

Especially that it's 5:50.

The ferry's here, too.

They're brainwashed.

For one, they're brainwashed.

Two, they're tired.

-This is because -- You know what?

I'm going to tell you why this is because.

Because, you know, a lot of people that were sitting there never really been -- They might've heard about unions that we did, but there's very few of us that has been in a union.

These people, you can see it in their eyes -- they're dead.

-That's what they did.

-So, I heard from a reliable source that the captive-audience meetings are starting up tomorrow.

Also, they're hiring like crazy.

Like, there were new people lined out the door.

You know, it's crazy, like, starting Amazon, your second day, going to a captive audience.

I think they want to be people's first impression of, you know, what the union is, what it wants.

We need to challenge the idea that these captive audiences are even legal.

They are inherently coercive.

They interfere with our rights as workers.

We should just go in, occupy that training room, and don't even let them hold the meetings.

-Pass?

[ Beep ] -The union wants to speak for you.

They think they can do a better job speaking for you than you're doing for yourself.

Based on their priorities, they will decide what to negotiate on your behalf, and you will have to pay dues whether you're happy with the ALU or not.

-We're proud of our track record together.

The ALU has no track record.

They've never represented any employees anywhere.

All they have is promises.

But we're asking you to do three simple things -- get the facts, ask questions, and vote no to the union.

-So, that's the ultimate theme.

Remember, your signature is worth something.

-Hi.

My name is Natalie.

I'm a sort inductor on the ship dock and I'm actually one of the organizers for the Amazon Labor Union.

Just to let you know, the leader of the ALU is Chris Smalls.

He was fired when he went outside and protested because we were not getting PPE inside the factory, even though we were processing it for the rest of the world.

Okay?

So him and his friends that also worked here got fired.

Okay?

So when I say that we put a union out there that is worker-led and is Amazon employees, we have all of you in mind.

It's workers protecting workers and standing up for workers.

-Excuse me.

-No.

And you guys -- No, no, no.

I want to say one more thing.

You talk about $1,200?

Union busters make $2,000 to $3,000 per day, paid by Amazon, to sell everybody out.

-We're making it work.

Okay.

It's 1:00 now.

I'll be able to get... almost five hours of sleep.

That's enough.

[ Squawking ] -Put it like this.

The union is y'all.

There is no third party.

-Yeah, man, they know that... Bro, they know that, but they're trying to... -If anybody's scared that you know, tell them they can sign online.

All you got to do is scan your phone.

-They are scared because they got people in there talking them out of it.

-Yeah.

Yeah, they're paying them 10,000.

We know.

We know.

-That's what's going on.

-We know, but we gonna get there, though.

It's only a matter of time.

We got this.

Thanks, brother.

-So you're able to help out someone else who's dying for a union, because there's people in there I talk to.

They dying for it, bro.

So, you sign up, man.

Get a free plate.

Contribute to our movement.

We can all help.

We can all help.

-Yeah.

Thank you.

-So, you sign... Yeah, that's for the petition.

[ Horns honking ] -Yes!

Thank you!

Thank you!

-Whoop!

No hands.

-It looks like your account is suspended and your payment of $30 is due now.

And I see your account is not eligible for an extension right now.

Say "pay now," "payment help," or tell me what else you'd like to do.

Pay now.

-Cool!

Payments.

To keep your account active, it is $30.

Is that the amount you want to pay?

-Yes.

-Thanks.

-When's your next class?

-Mine?

-Yeah.

-Mine is now.

-So you need to put the game down and find out how to get in there.

-I'm trying to, but I can't.

-There's no Zoom?

-There is a Zoom.

-So get in the Zoom.

[ Computer plays jingle ] [ Vocalizes computer jingle ] -Let me pass it to... Oh, did you want me to pass it, Chris, or did you say you want to start the meeting?

-Who else is left?

We got -- Oh, Seth.

Oh, Madeline.

Let me introduce y'all to Madeline.

Madeline is hopefully going to be another salt for us, hopefully.

You know, she's in -- You're in Florida, right?

I've been talking to her on the phone and I'm trying to convince her to come up here and join us with ALU and get hired by the company and salt the building for us.

So, Madeline, I need you to introduce yourself.

-Hi.

I'm Madeline.

I did, like, student-labor organizing when I was in college and now I'm hoping to continue my work in the movement with y'all.

-Where did my clipboard go?

-Is this yours?

We're all Amazon workers.

We're trying to form a union that's specifically for Amazon workers, which is why we're trying something completely new here.

It gives us the legal right to bargain all of our wages and working conditions as a group instead of as individuals.

The way it works now is if you want a job here at Amazon, you have to sign whatever the... -Hey, I don't want to bother you.

I'm sorry.

I see you eating your mac.

But we have hot dogs, hamburgers.

We got some baked ziti.

We got some real food over there.

-Okay.

-So let's have a walk.

Let's get some real food, you know... ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Hey.

Hey, you know that's illegal, right?

You know that's illegal, right?

You're not supposed to be doing that.

I'm talking to you.

You know that's illegal, right?

Don't do that.

♪♪ -♪ Happy birthday, dear Jason ♪ ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ [ Cheers and applause ] -Here, blow it out.

No, just blow it out, blow it out.

-Make a wish.

-[ Cheers and applause ] -Happy birthday.

-Happy birthday.

-Thank you, guys.

This is so special.

-The Transit guru.

Y'all know what it is.

-Last year, I was in there, going through hell!

-Now you're here chillin' with us.

-This year, I'm here chillin'.

[ All cheering ] "PAS" means "particular annoying station."

A star -- that means double fare.

That means that you can't transfer between directions.

My commute starts around here.

That means almost two hours all the way to JFK.

Somebody like Daequan -- he lives around here -- he will take more than two hours.

And my beloved sister, Angie, who lives in Staten Island, has to pick up her son at school and get to work on time.

But the buses are not quick enough, and it gets so crowded that if you miss one, you have to wait either 15 to 30 minutes till the next one.

Even though that all of us -- we come from different backgrounds... we developed a family-hood bond... that will never, ever be broken.

-Wow!

You look so handsome.

Do you remember anyone's name from last time at the factory?

-Yeah.

-Who do you remember from the factory last time?

-Um... Connor.

Did you just tell Connor my tooth fell out?

-Yeah.

-Alright.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Hello, everyone.

-Hey!

-Hey.

-My name is Chris.

-Hey.

-Hi.

How are you?

-I'm JM.

-What's your name?

-JM.

-How are you?

-I ain't like that...meeting.

I don't give a... -That was crazy.

-It was just hostile as... Glad that's over.

God!

-Lecturing us.

-Just at least get to know us.

That's what I thought it was going to be.

-Instead of, like, asking us questions, she just assumed that we didn't know what we were doing.

-Crazy, because we never met her before, and she was, like, talking down to us like we did something to her.

I was like... -Like we did something wrong.

-That's exactly what happened.

Talk about we got to protect our character.

We can't do this and that and we got to act a certain way.

Like, I felt like she was talking to us like ...kids and... -"You don't know how to behave."

-"You gotta know how to behave."

-They got the impression that we don't take this seriously because we make decisions that don't make sense to them.

-Right.

-Like, I'm tired of everybody assuming... Like, that...is crazy to me.

How the...people think they know what the...we about?

Everything we do is for the people.

She goes, "I want to make sure y'all doing it for the people."

We are the...people.

Talk about the president.

We don't give a... if Biden endorses or not.

We don't care about Biden.

-We're never getting a Biden endorsement.

-We can't even get an AOC endorsement.

-Yeah, like, we don't care about no politician.

That's why I say she don't know what she's dealing with.

We are Amazon workers.

We have to match Amazon's intensity and power in several different ways, not just traditional.

-But this is going to go on for years.

This could go on for years, Chris.

-Yeah, it could.

-I agree.

-It could and it could also not.

[ Laughs ] Y'all got to understand, we are the NWA -- The NWA of the organizing world.

Right now, Amazon is on their high horse, and we want to punch them in their face.

That was crazy.

I was like, "What are we talking about here?"

Talking about losing.

Like, it's going to take years?

It is not.

Look... -No!

What the... are they talking about?

-We is not about -- -I'm not taking no years.

-We are not about to spend years in JFK8.

You got to think outside the box.

-That's the only way you're going to beat them.

From the inside.

-The inside out.

-We know everything about these... -Everything.

And we know -- we know that these dumb...do dumb...

I don't know who's on -- We know that Amazon makes stupid-ass mistakes.

They could have all the money and resources in the world.

They still do dumb... -How you doing, guys?

Amazon's spreading a lot of misinformation.

Please take one of these.

It'll help you understand what's going on.

One, you cannot be terminated as easily anymore, because now they have to deal with us, as well.

So all of that you're fired just because, you know, you did one thing wrong.

The firing process is going to be a lot harder.

You getting write-ups... -And there's nothing wrong with that.

Like, you shouldn't be doing all of that.

You want to go to a house.

Like, I've been there.

I lived out of my car, too, for a whole summer, and it ain't three years, but I couldn't even do a summer, but I had to get, you know, back on my feet So I know what you're going through, and it's like, yeah, you shouldn't be going through that working for the richest company in the world.

That sounds crazy.

Alright, no problem.

My phone died right on time.

-Chris, who was that?

-Natalie.

She's homeless.

She just told me today.

I'm like, "Why'd you didn't tell me when you first met me?"

And she don't want to be helped.

I'm like, "Nah, you can't tell me this and then think I'm not going to help you.

Like, what do you think is going on?"

But she's going to come around.

But it's crazy.

Like, she just said that she's been living out of her car for the last three years.

Crazy.

-I've been training a lot of new hires.

I spent half my time training and the other half the time answering questions about the union.

I'm like, "I'm really happy you guys are here.

You know, congratulations, welcome aboard.

But we got to stand up for ourselves."

I said, "When they start disrespecting you," I said, "you stand your ground.

You look them in the eye.

You tell them you're not going to tolerate that... You don't get paid enough for that.

And then you tell them, 'You want to do my job better than I do?

Let's switch right now.'"

-My managers have no idea I'm a union organizer.

-You wear the shirt?

-Causing no problems.

No, I don't wear the shirt at work.

-Yeah.

So they have no idea.

-Perfect.

-You would think with, like, Amazon's surveillance technology, like, they would've pinned me down by now, but... -Well, you have a college degree, too.

That's going to help you really -- That's really going to help you up the ladder.

-But they don't know that.

-That's exactly what they want.

-They've never asked me anything about my background.

-They could make the safe assumption.

-You think so?

Like, they've never asked me anything.

-Uh...if I took one look at you, I would know "college grad."

[ Laughter ] -It feels like an insult.

-It's a compliment.

No, no, no.

It's a compliment.

When I talk to the women about the union... everybody's going to bring up the pay.

-Okay.

-Everybody's going to bring up longer breaks, because everybody's tired, everybody's sore.

But if you go deeper and bring up the gender discrimination, the lack of promotions, the micro-management, being treated like workhorses while the guys aren't doing any work, that's another thing that's really annoying.

-I have to start over.

-Please put us over 13.

That's all I ask.

-I'm going to get a total number in a second.

-You ready?

-Yes!

-[ Applause ] -1,353.

-Boom!

-We're right where we need to be.

-Four weeks.

-We got four...weeks.

-If the numbers from May were true, we'd only need like 50 more signatures to have 1/3.

-Cancel all your plans unless it's family-related.

If it ain't family-related, we have to...tent.

Like, we got to.

I applied to be a manager 50 times.

You probably got less than a 2% chance of becoming the manager from becoming the PA. And if you're Black... you got 1% chance.

When, I mean, I was training managers, I was literally training them.

How the...am I going to be a PA when I know more than you?

[ Chuckles ] You got to come to me for... so who's the real manager?

Me.

♪♪ ♪♪ They just didn't realize that how much I was invested into the company.

They didn't realize that.

It's...crazy, but I don't give a...

I hope I get the last laugh.

That's all I know.

-The problem is, if he refuses to comply, he can get arrested.

So if he refuses to take down the tent, which, like, I think would be the plan -- like, if the cops come and they say, "You have to take down the tent," Chris is going to say, "No."

-Right.

Which he should.

-And that's probably ground -- And that's when they would arrest him.

-Which is, like, a good strategy.

I mean, that's organizing, I mean, that is... -No, that's putting his life in danger.

That's not good.

-I mean, that literally was... -We just have to make sure he does it safely.

Planned arrests happen all the time.

-That was the MLK organizing strategy was, "Put ourselves in positions where we would get arrested in a way that the people arresting us..." -And look what happened to him.

-"...look bad."

-I mean, he got shot.

He got assassinated by the FBI, basically.

I mean, it was a whole other thing.

The police arrested him many times.

-You guys are out of your mind.

-He needs -- -You guys are acting like it's not that big of a deal because you're white people.

You guys want to get arrested?

Try being a Black person and getting arrested in New York.

-I'm not saying he should do it.

Like, it's his decision.

-He wants to do it.

-I'm the one saying -- -There's a very high probability that it's not going to turn out well.

-So we can't let the fear of the most, like, remote possibility -- -It's not a remote possibility that a Black person could be killed by a cop in New York.

That...happens all the time.

-I share your concerns.

-Chris could die.

-This sort of fear is going to destroy any sort of union organizing.

-It's not a fear, it's a reality.

It's a reality.

-But the possibility that he gets arrested for the tent is already -- It's not 100% that he'll even get arrested.

-I love how you've only been in this group a month and you're already ready to put his life on the line for this.

-How long have you been working here?

-Seven months.

-Okay, cool.

-And if you could change one thing about the job, what would it be?

Like, anything.

-There's a lot.

[ Laughs ] -Yeah.

-You know, hit your rate.

-Yeah.

-I got written up three times for packing when I first started.

Three times.

They said, "You get another write-up, then you get terminated."

-Folks, here's a card.

-Look at that.

-Oh, yeah.

The sig.

-Yeah, buy in!

-Of course I buy in.

-I don't have an exact number right now.

We have over 1,700.

-One day.

One day, Maddie.

-It's okay.

-I got you.

You're going to be surprised.

Ask the right questions.

I'm at work right now.

I'll probably be on later tonight.

-Okay.

But you better not be so late, because I always fall asleep.

-Yeah, I'm going to try to get on early.

[ Laughs ] Alright?

-Okay.

Alright, love you.

-Love you.

-And then just sign right here.

-Oh.

Oh, yeah, there.

-Yes!

You're signing the paper?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

-Nice!

-[ Laughs ] -This look like something now.

[ Laughs ] This first...box got dust on it.

-Like, the first one, right?

-Sig god.

-That's all our work in that.

-Yeah, the first one.

-I know.

-Hey, guys.

-What'd I do?

-Give us just a second.

Just the folks with the petitions right now or the showing of interest, and then let me find out how this is going to work.

-I'm going to try.

-That's it, y'all.

We did it.

It's officially done.

Notice to employees will be sent out in the matter of a week.

Everybody in their facilities will be notified that a petition has been filed.

-Hell yeah.

[ Cheers and applause ] -I think the way we'll do this is, you know, we have our proposed leadership, and it's the people that have been -- essentially, you know, started this campaign, and hopefully, you know, our vision can carry it through to the election.

So, for president, I'll nominate you, Chris, and then if somebody would like to second that nomination.

-I second that.

-I second it.

-I second.

-Congrats, Chris.

-Thank you.

Proud to be your guys' president for the second half of this fight.

I'm going to nominate Derrick Palmer as the external vice president.

-I'll second.

-I second.

-I'll second.

-Thank you, guys.

-No doubt.

Well-deserved, brother.

I'm going to nominate Madeline to be our treasurer.

-Second.

-Second.

-I second that.

-Second.

-I second.

-Thank you.

♪♪ ♪♪ -Hi.

-Could we talk outside?

-Um, sure.

-Come on.

-They...us over, yo.

We had to withdraw the petition.

You know, how the...do we meet all the requirements and exceed the cards and still get...over by the NLRB?

Because Amazon fired damn near half the people who signed the cards.

They're saying 900 of the cards, you know, people no longer work for the company.

It's a bunch of... Hey, Nat.

-Hi, how are you?

-I'm good.

How are you?

Actually, not great, but... [ Laughs ] Yeah.

-Laura just sent me a text.

-Yeah.

That's what I wanted to call you about.

-I didn't know.

-Yeah.

Oh, we just found out this morning.

-Hello, comrades.

I'm Justine.

I've been at Amazon for almost two months now.

I've been doing community organizing for over a decade now.

I believe that organizing the working class is the most important thing that we can be doing, and happy to be here.

-Thank you, comrade.

Alright, everybody, let's get started.

I know there's a lot of mixed emotions going on, mixed feelings out here.

I'm hearing all the rumors, You know, especially with the withdrawal that's happening, right now, we just have to focus on getting more signatures, to refile.

And my hope is to do that within the next week or two.

-Workers are going to lose hope the longer we're out the game.

We're going to resubmit.

That's all we got to keep in our heads is that we're going to get to an election.

I know Justine has her hand up.

Justine, go ahead.

-Thank you, comrade.

-No problem.

So, something that I disagree with comrade Chris on -- so, I don't see this as a make-or-break moment of like, we only have the next two to three weeks, right?

So while I think that that is coming from a place of recognizing the weather and being outside at night in cold, right?

So, but I think that that means that we need to change up our tactics, right?

-Yeah, that's not correct, though.

-Chris, let me talk, please.

I think that we need to hit a higher number and I think it's okay that it takes longer than two to three weeks... -She needs to stay in her lane.

-As a strong, powerful team, like, be ready to take on those escalations.

-She's trying to dominate the meeting.

It's not okay.

-And that doesn't happen instantaneously.

Like, you have to build towards this.

-Justine, the reason why I'm saying two-to-three-week window is because we don't want to wait until after peak season, when we know they're going to fire everybody after peak season.

If we get them before peak season is over, we have a better chance.

But Justine hasn't been here long enough to know that -- -No, I know that.

I know that.

I am aware of that.

-And so when it comes to the bargaining unit, we can't include seasonal workers.

We're not planning to do that.

And as far as the weather, you know, we've been dealing with Mother Nature from April, and the weather being out here has nothing to do with us staying out here.

People that have been here every single night with myself understand what we're going through.

So, it's easy to say, you know, "We're doing this --" -I think that instead of saying, "Okay, how do we beat this weather?

", I think we just have to say like, "This might take more than two to three weeks."

-Yeah, I agree with Justine and Jason.

-The meetings aren't gonna be going on until further notice.

So... -They are going to try to fire as many of our supporters as humanly possible, which is why we can only give them a week or two, because they can't do too much damage.

If we give them like a month, they're going to... -We got to explain to people inside the building or, like, in the break room.

"Hey, look if you guys have any questions..." [ Indistinct conversations ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Wind howling ] -...are you okay?

Do you need help?

-Yeah, I'm all right, Mother Nature's a little mad at us today, that's all.

Just a little bit of that good ol' Staten Island weather.

♪♪ ♪♪ -Hey, Chris.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Let's get started.

People could say what they want.

People on the outside don't know what's going on.

The bottom line is, when we stay grounded, when we stay together, there's nothing that can stop our momentum.

The only thing that's going to stop us is if we stop ourselves.

So, this week is the most important week of the campaign.

We're going to use a different strategy.

-How you doing, everybody?

Free pizza, free food, free weed.

-Have a good one?

-See what I'm doing, man?

-You love us.

Oh, my God.

-I love y'all, I swear.

You know how much this ...costs... -Listen.

Oh, my... Pizza, weed.

Like, you can't go wrong, man.

I'm finally going to go home happy.

-Yeah, you know, look -- -This just made my day.

-You already know.

-A lot.

-You know.

That's what we here for.

Tell people like, "My union cares.

I don't give a... what Amazon told me."

-I was just telling him, they be giving us bootleg Tylenol.

-[ Laughs ] -Like...the pills.

That doesn't even say "Tylenol."

It's just a little tablet.

I'm looking like, "What is this?"

You don't even feel better.

-I'm going to hook you up.

I'm going to give you a lot.

-Thank you, thank you!

-No problem.

No problem.

-What's going on?

What y'all doing?

-Man, you already know.

-Merry Christmas.

Free weed for Christmas.

All we asking y'all -- to spread the word, that's it.

No, we don't want nothing in return, just to spread the word.

We fighting for $30 an hour, job security, to keep y'all's cellphone.

They going to take that...away.

-I know, right?

-All of that.

Go ahead, and if you guys want to sign up, we got free pizza, free soda, and free weed today.

Please help yourselves.

-♪ Keep your heart ♪ ♪ Man, these girls is smart ♪ ♪ Three stacks, these girls is smart ♪ ♪ Play your part, play your part ♪ -What do you mean?

You know what happened?

You know what's up?

...we got the election.

[ All cheering ] Bring your ass here now!

-[Chanting] ALU!

ALU!

ALU!

ALU!

-Yeah!

-ALU!

ALU!

ALU!

-What's your name?

-Mitch.

-Mitch, I'm Jaime.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

Yeah, I just want you guys to know it is illegal to take down union literature when it's in a break room.

We are legally allowed to post it.

-I'm putting it right back.

Here you go.

-Okay, great.

-Thanks so much.

-Awesome.

For sure.

-Yeah, they put it right above the urinals and they put them on the inside of the stall doors.

You see the first thing they bring up is the dues.

-They out here hitting us with almost 100-year-old techniques.

It's actually hilarious.

-Oh, you ain't seen nothing yet.

It's just getting started.

Good morning, y'all.

Good morning.

Good morning.

-Good morning.

-Good morning.

Good morning.

What's up, brother?

-Alright.

Alright.

-Have a good one, man.

Have a good one.

-Hello?

how are you?

Is that Mr. Adakoni?

How are you doing?

Great.

My name is Brema Silla.

I work for Amazon and, also, I'm a volunteer for the Amazon Labor Union.

-Right.

Yeah, we have the similar thing with the UPT where it's like, if we're six minutes late, they take an hour of our UPT and then if we put in time, then we still have to go to HR and try to fight to get the hour back.

-Really?

-You know, so we want to get rid of all that.

-Oh, wow.

Well, actually, I'm his mom.

I'm helping -- Yes, you're speaking to his ma.

We're trying to contact every worker individually, whether that's by call or by door or in the break rooms, and so I'm trying to phone-bank 8,000 workers by the end of the week.

-My mom's a nurse, so when I told her that we were fighting for $30, she was like, "You guys think you guys deserve $30 an hour?"

But what changed her mind was, she was telling my grandmother about what I was doing, and my grandmother was like, "Yeah, you know your aunt -- she works making up beds in the hotels and she makes $30 an hour doing that."

My mom was like, "What?"

Mom was like, "She almost makes how much I make making up beds in a hotel?"

And my grandmother's like, "Yeah, because she's in a union."

And I think that also changed her heart.

But I think with me is that because although I'm very to myself, like, whatever I think about, I'm very strong-willed at, so I think what really got her was that when she was trying to tell me, like, I didn't deserve it, I was telling her how much I deserved it and everyone else in the warehouse deserved it.

And so I think, like, she really, like -- she liked that.

-We're asking you to vote yes.

Vote yes for job security.

Vote yes for your friends.

Vote for who are fired.

Vote to scrap the system that writes you up.

All of these things are possible.

You make Amazon $638 million a day.

It's time we get paid our fair share, and I believe that, on March 30, 2022, we all together will be on the right side of history.

-Nice.

-Thanks.

-You should send the link to the Latinos for Amazon.

-In the group chat?

-Yeah.

-Okay.

-What up?

-Alright, crew.

-♪ Everywhere we go ♪ -♪ Everywhere we go ♪ -♪ People want to know ♪ -♪ People want to know ♪ -♪ Who we are ♪ -♪ Who we are ♪ -Yep, we're here.

-♪ So we tell them ♪ -♪ So we tell them ♪ -I like money talk.

[ Laughter, applause ] -If any of y'all have questions, we're happy to answer them.

-Somebody said all meetings were canceled after ALU organizers got in.

"My meeting was now, and it was canceled, as were the rest of them for today."

-Another worker was telling us the same thing, that they got the text that it was canceled, and they were like, "That's y'all's doing."

-Yeah.

He said, people heard about y'all walking in here.

-They can threaten us all they want.

We're not leaving.

[ Cheers and applause ] -Yeah, there you go.

[ Horns honking ] -There we go.

Good job!

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -When did this happen?

-So, all of these write-ups are very close to date.

For you, it was last week?

-Yeah.

-Justine, last week.

For me, just last night.

-And yours?

Was last night.

-Yeah.

Two managers came.

The first one couldn't get me.

She tried.

She said, "Come down with me to HR."

I said, "I want a representative.

I want Brett Daniels."

She got frustrated, she left, she came back later.

She spilled her message verbally, and I said, "I want Brett Daniels, I need a representative."

But anyway, she went on.

She said, "This is not a write-up.

This is a verbal warning."

She said, "Don't go to the meetings uninvited."

I'm like, "Okay."

They didn't stop there.

Another operation manager came, and then she showed me her computer.

She's like, "You had low performance last week.

This is a write-up by the system."

-Wow!

-Wait, wait, wait, wait.

So they wrote you up for productivity?

-Yeah.

-Yes.

Poor performance.

-For me, personally, I don't know whether I'm right or wrong, but I think a little bit suspicious.

Is it because they want to send a message?

-So they're targeting y'all.

They gonna give all y'all write-ups.

They did Karen yesterday.

Y'all all gonna get one eventually.

And now people going to look at y'all and be like, "Well, they got written up.

I'm not trying to get involved."

So we don't want to mention nothing about it to other workers, but just file our lawsuits and be prepared that they're going to give y'all write-ups.

Let's just continue doing what the hell we doing.

You know, we just got to survive the next 18 days.

They raised the minimum wage to $15 back in 2018, but they took away our stocks, they took away our monthly bonuses in return.

What's up, man?

-I have to ask anyone who is not an Amazon employee to please leave the property.

-You already know we ain't going nowhere, man.

Do what you got to do.

You know what's up already.

-Chris, man, please, we respect your right to do this, but... -Right.

So do what you got to do.

-...please leave the property.

-I'm not going anywhere.

Call the cops.

I...

I'll leave when I feel like leaving.

I'm doing the interview right now.

-Will you please get off the property?

-I will when I feel like it.

Right now, I'm doing it right here.

-So, can you explain just what happened real quick?

-That's the dude that fired me two years ago.

You know, it's him right there.

He know me.

They can do what they got to do, and I'm gonna do what we got to do.

That's what we got lawyers for.

I ain't worried about them.

They want to call the cops, call the cops.

[ Siren chirps, car doors close ] ...all this wasted tax dollars, yo.

-Hey, Chris, like I said, man, I'm going to ask you and anyone who's not an Amazon employee has to leave the premise, please.

Anyone who is an Amazon employee, I am not speaking to you.

You guys are free to stay.

-Okay, but are we in a parking lot that says "visitor," right?

-You're currently trespassing on Amazon property if you are not an Amazon associate.

-Right, right, right.

You didn't answer the question, though.

That sign over there says "visitor," right?

I'm a visitor.

-With who?

What are you doing here?

-I'm visiting with him.

They work here.

-How long have you been here for today?

-Few minutes.

-So you're refusing to leave?

-No, I said I'm going to leave when he's leaving.

-Are you refusing to leave?

-I said, no, I'm going to leave when he leaves.

-Are you leaving?

Yes or no?

-Yeah, I said yeah.

-Alright, if you're not leaving within the next two minutes, you're going to be arrested.

-Y'all not enforcing no law.

Y'all just wasting y'all time.

-You have 30 seconds or you're getting arrested.

It's very simple.

-I'm going to get arrested?

How am I going to get arrested?

For what?

For what?

-Ooh!

-He's a worker!

He works here!

-Leave him alone.

-Hold on, hold on.

-Step off.

-Stop.

-Get your hands off at him.

-Let me go.

Let me go.

-That's resisting arrest.

-What are you doing?

-Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.

-Get your hands off of him.

Get your hands off him.

-He's a worker.

-I'm going outside.

-Check to see what's going on.

-Yeah.

-Let me go.

-They're hurting my wrist!

-Jason is a worker.

Jason is allowed to be here.

-I got it.

I got it.

-Do me a favor.

Give these guys a little space.

So we're going to back up here.

I understand.

I understand, but you're not going to interfere with him.

-Should still be within about 5 feet.

-If we can touch it, it's going to be a problem.

I told you that.

-You're resisting arrest.

[ Cellphone chimes ] -No, no, Chris.

This is serious.

You saw me, how I was on Saturday.

-How was you on Saturday?

-I was very exhausted.

-Jason... -My whole body was hurting like hell.

-Jason... -And you guys wanted me to stay -- -Jason, you're talking to people that worked at Amazon for years, especially me.

I was a picker.

I know exactly what you're going through.

Why are you acting like I don't...?

-So tell that to Connor!

-Tell that to -- Connor worked at Amazon for three years.

I think he know what peak season is.

-But Connor does not care.

-It doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter.

-It's all the same and the struggle of it.

-Jason, everybody's body is hurting.

-What's going on?

-He feels like not being at Amazon because it's a lot of pressure and he feels like he's not being heard.

-What does he mean he's not being heard?

-All he's wanting to talk about is... -Now, we all understand what you're going through, but this is what we signed up for.

I feel your pain, brother, but we not ignoring that.

It's just -- -Chris... -It's just that getting on each other about who worked harder, it doesn't matter.

-I'm about to give up, seriously.

Jason, this is the long haul, right?

This is the marathon.

We know that.

What do you -- -I'm about to give up, seriously.

-We -- Give up on what?

What are you giving up on?

-On everything.

-Why?

I tell you this all the time.

Whenever you going through... call one of us.

-Chris... -But, like, getting on your comrades right now is not the way we going to be doing this.

We supposed to start at 8:45.

Obviously, that's not happening.

-Uh, Maddie, we canceled the meeting.

-Why?

Actually, I called the meeting for 9:00.

-Yeah, but we all said 8:45 because Cassio... -Well, it's some pretty classic communication issues.

-You can't just cancel the full meeting just because we're late.

-Cassio wants to have a break.

-Well, he can and he did.

-I'm the one who called the meeting.

-Listen, forget about the meeting.

If we say something, you got to do it.

We can't just like, "Alright, we're going to show up late and then we going to --" -I mean, Chris Smalls, you're going to lecture us about being late to things?

Seriously?

-Wait.

You want to lecture me, bro?

You've been to Mexico.

-I'm not lecturing anybody.

I just feel like that's a weird position.

-Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on.

Let me tell you something, bro.

Don't do that, because you've been to Mexico.

Don't do that.

Number one, I can be late.

I can be late.

I can be late because I sacrifice my time all the time.

Trust me.

-Oh, I didn't?

I haven't?

-Wait.

-I haven't?

-Well, I started way before you.

Don't disrespect me, you understand?

Don't disrespect me.

-You're yelling at us.

-I'm not yelling at -- Look, this is what I'm talking about.

-I feel like I'm being yelled at by my father right now.

-Maddie, listen.

I'm not your father.

I don't want to be.

I have my own kids.

Listen.

-I don't understand why this turned into a screaming thing instead of just a conversation.

-It's one person talking right now, and the floor will be yours, too.

We family.

We going to argue and fight.

But y'all gonna listen to what -- -You can't yell at us for being 15 minutes late.

-We're not yelling at you.

-I'm...tired.

-Oh, my God!

Everyone is so sensitive.

But when everyone doesn't see each other, like, it's not a problem.

Like, just listen.

It's not that serious, guys.

-It's not a problem.

It's not a big deal.

-This is not a productive conversation.

-It is a productive conversation.

-I'd rather a real union come in, 1199, Teamsters, Local 79.

Someone that's been around.

This is a new union.

Nobody knows what this man's going to do with this money.

Even if you charge $5 a person, who's to say he's going to actually stay on the up-and-up?

-An employee was talking about the head of the Amazon Labor Union, a former employee, Chris Smalls.

The Amazon Labor Union hasn't really received that much support from normal institutional players like RWDSU or 1190.

-Hey!

-How you doing?

-I'm good.

How are you?

-Good to see you.

It's so nice to see you.

-I was so emotional.

Like, I wasn't responding to anybody for a few days.

It just was a lot to take in.

-Yeah.

-It was really disappointing to have to give up after a year of putting your heart and soul into something.

-Why do you feel like you had to give up?

-I wanted to be a part of other organizations that actually appreciated what I could bring to the table, instead of constantly feeling like I was being fought with every single day or ignored or dismissed or disrespected.

I can't leave one boys' club at Amazon and work for another boys' club in the union.

I can't do it.

-Over 50% in JFK8 do not have faith in the people that you have faith in.

What I hope happens is that everybody votes no, enough people, so that a national, established, experienced union can come in... -They're not coming.

They're not coming, Nat.

-...with the resources -- They're coming.

-They're not coming.

-They're waiting.

They're itching for this.

-Nat, this is our shot.

This is our shot to make things better.

-I don't want to be in the union.

I shouldn't have to pay for the union.

Supreme Court -- -Do you believe in a right-to-work state?

You believe in right-to-work laws?

Maddie... -I care about this.

-I know you do.

I know you do.

That's what makes this whole situation even sadder.

-And I can't imagine doing anything else.

-How was your day?

-They got me...up.

-[ Laughs ] That's every day.

-They're going to make me fail school.

-Yeah, no, don't do that.

-The wall was so packed.

I did like a 400, bro.

-God, they just don't...care.

-Mama!

-Cool.

Alright.

Say "A-L-U."

-A-L-U.

-A-L-U!

-A-L-U!

-Whoo, you did it!

-Starting today, 8,000 Amazon warehouse workers on Staten Island will begin voting on whether they want to form a union.

The Amazon Labor Union is campaigning for higher pay, layoff protections, and longer lunch breaks.

Amazon employee Rafael Morreno says he's voting yes.

-We have long hours.

We're here 10 to 12 hours on our feet all day, short breaks, shorter than I've seen any other company with this much hours.

-Voting will be tallied in the following days.

♪♪ ♪♪ -They haven't really received a lot of support from these established unions and they are a group of former and current employees that have basically tried this grassroots effort to create the union here.

And we spoke with the head of the union, Chris Smalls, a former employee, just a short time ago about their efforts and how confident he is going into today's vote.

Take a listen.

-We met a lot of people who are voting "no," actually.

-Yeah.

No, we're not going to have everybody on our side, but, you know, as long as we have the majority.

There's going to be some vote nos, there's going to be some vote yeses, but, you know, we'll see what happens at the end of the election.

-I was in the ALU.

I am voting "No."

And I would prefer that a more established, experienced national union would come in, because with a Goliath like Amazon, they have all the money and the resources in the world.

We need a strong, established national union.

-Thank you very much, Natalie.

-Great.

Thank you very much.

-Have a good shift.

-You too.

Thank you.

-...24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30... -They are all NLRB representatives.

-And then who's watching it?

-I think in the room is Chris, Gerald, J, Jason.

-They need to understand, my heart can't take this.

[ Siren wailing in distance ] -123... -There's a group of current and former employees that are organizing.

It's a grassroots effort.

It's not affiliated with any national union, so it's very atypical in that sense, as well.

-The last count was 2,203 to 1,750.

Only a couple of hundred left.

-Holy... -Oh, my God.

-It literally doubled.

-Bro, what happened?

-Damn, bro.

-34.

-34.

-Oh!

-And -- And... -No!

-And we got CNN.

We got the article from CNN already.

-Yo, Connor, did you see The New York Times headline?

-No.

-It's so good.

Who the...is calling me?

Please stop.

[ Laughs ] "Amazon workers vote to unionize in a massive New York warehouse in one of the biggest wins for organized labor in a generation."

[ All cheering ] We is strong, baby!

Woo!

Yeah!

[ Cheering ] Let's go!

Let's go!

[ Whooping ] We is strong, baby!

Let's go!

[ Cheering ] It's on you, my guy!

It's over!

[ Cheering ] -Yeah, this moment... Man... Man, I ain't going to cry right now, but...

I spent the last 11 months, the folks behind me spent the last 11 months, as well, inside, outside the building, at the bus stop, earning the trust of these workers, building relationships.

We did whatever it took to connect with those workers to make their daily lives just a little bit easy, a little bit less stressful.

-I mean, this is a humongous task.

Every problem in JFK8 is ours.

You know?

-Yeah.

-I mean, sorry to be a party pooper, but this... -No, you're right.

I don't give a... -This is a huge, huge -- You know, the eyes of the world are looking at it right now.

-Monday, we right back at it.

We're gonna be phone-banking.

We're going to be organizing LDJ5 workers, making sure that they committed to vote.

-Do you have a message for Jeff Bezos?

-Oh, we want to thank Jeff Bezos for going to space, because when he was up there, we was signing people up.

-Yeah, we was out here -- -We was out here getting signatures.

-We was buying in, buying in.

-They paid how much money?

It was $4.5 million to consulting lawyers and firms, the same lawyers I just shook hands while we kicked they ass.

Thank you all.

Appreciate it.

-Holla!

-[ Cheers and applause ] -Yeah!

-ALU!

-[Chanting] ALU!

ALU!

ALU!

ALU!

ALU!

ALU!

ALU!

ALU!

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Further, Amazon cannot even come to grips with the reality that the workers in Staten Island won their union election fair and square.

Their strategy is obvious.

They're going to stall and stall and stall.

-Senator Graham?

-Wow.

[ Chuckles ] You can have oversight hearings all you like, but you've determined Amazon is a piece-of-crap company.

That's your political bias.

Thank you.

-Well, first of all, I want to address Mr. Graham.

You forgot that the people are the ones that make these corporations go.

It's not the other way around.

And I think that it's in your best interest to realize that you should listen, because we do represent your constituents, as well.

And we are the ones that are suffering in the corporations that you're talking about.

I'm going to let you know right now that, on behalf of the Amazon Labor Union and the hundreds of thousands of workers across this country, that we will continue to organize.

That this is not a left or right thing.

This is a working-class issue.

And the workers at the bottom are the ones who make these corporations go.

♪♪ -Everybody stand by for the final count.

It is 381 yes, 680 nos.

I repeat -- 381 yes, 618 nos.

-Yeah, I know we were really putting on a hopeful face the last week and really trying to push.

It was a miracle that we won JFK8.

It's a miracle that we got as far as we did in LDJ5.

We can spin this to be -- -It's not a miracle that we won in JFK8.

Let's not do that.

-It was a historic feat.

It was not a miracle.

-Yeah.

-It was historic.

-Okay, I see what you're saying.

-We're still going to take our campaign throughout the country, and we'll be fine, I promise that.

Guarantee.

-Well, wait, wait, wait.

Chris, just hear me out.

Hear me out, my guy, 'cause I came here to have a meeting.

Instead our argument is, "How can we make the process with this better and stronger and, you know, how can we learn from, you know, what we lost?"

And to ensure, that's where I'm coming from, man.

I'm about ALU right now.

This isn't about personal issues, my guy.

-People just want to do things differently and, you know, they want a chance to vote on, you know, how we execute that strategy.

It affects the union.

You know, losing at these buildings -- you know, it affects, number one, our organizing in JFK8 and it just affects the life of the union.

-Okay, so, let me stop you right there, Connor.

Alright, so, the ones that feel that way, who are they?

-Everybody.

-Everybody.

♪♪ ♪♪ -I felt that something else needed to be changed once I got my first write-up.

You have this young manager coming up to you, don't even know your department, and giving my friends write-ups and telling them, "You're TOT.

You don't have rate."

And my friends are practically crying because they work their asses off and, yet, there's this algorithm that's deciding if we're...hard workers.

It was just so wrong.

I said, "Something needs to be changed."

And that's when I got my friends together at my house one day and I said, "Let's try to unionize, because that's the only way we're going to get them to listen to us.

That's where our power is going to come from, unionizing."

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -They don't want us to have that power.

That's what it's about.

Those classes -- Oh, here, take this one, too.

Yeah, you're welcome.

They don't want us to have the power.

♪♪ ♪♪ -♪ I came from nothin' ♪ ♪ I done been, I done been lower than low ♪ ♪ I keep my head straight ♪ ♪ No matter, no matter how low I go ♪ ♪ Grew up a po' boy ♪ ♪ Settin' traps in the corner to catch mice ♪ ♪ I remember the days, y'all ♪ ♪ All we had, all we had to eat was rice ♪ ♪ But we made it ♪ ♪ Made it ♪ ♪ Yes, we did ♪ ♪ Yes, we did ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ Yes, we did ♪ ♪ Yes, we did ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪