Amazon Labor Union President Christian Smalls had a lot to say to Senator Lindsey Graham during a Senate hearing called by fellow Senator Bernie Sanders.

Amazon Labor Union President Fires Back at Senator Lindsey Graham

(Photo : Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 05: President of the Amazon Labor Union Christian Smalls testifies before a Senate Budget Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on May 05, 2022 in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing to examine whether taxpayer dollars should go to companies that violate labor laws.

The president of the Amazon Labor Union had a lot to say to Senator Lindsey Graham during a Senate hearing.

For context, Gizmodo reports that Senator Bernie Sanders called for the a Senate Budget Committee hearing to "question the U.S. government's spending on contracts with companies accused of labor violations, with a particular focus on Amazon."

Senator Graham critized his fellow senator for being radical and said that the singling out of Amazon is dangerous. "You can have oversight hearings all you like, but you've determined Amazon is a piece of crap company," the senator said during the hearing. "That's your political bias."

Amazon Labor Union President Christian Small eventually fired back at Senator Graham and said, "You forgot that the people are the ones who make these companies operate."

Smalls went on say the following to the senator:

I think it's in your best interest to realize that it's not a left or right think. It's not a Democrat or Republican thing, it's a workers thing, it's a workers issue. We're the ones that are suffering in the corporations that you're talking about, in the business that you're talking about, in the warehouses that you're talking about.

You can watch his opening statement below:

The Historic Staten Island Union Vote

It can be recalled that Smalls led the historic vote at an Amazon Staten Island warehouse facility that led to the formation of a union last month.

Amazon warehouse workers voted 2,654 to 2,131 in favor of setting up a union for workers. It is no surprise that Amazon did what they could in order to stop this from happening. According to the Gizmodo report, prior to the vote, they attended anti-union meetings that they were meant to believe were required.

Public documents have also revealed that Amazon hundreds of thousands of dollars on anti-union consultants. A separate Gizmodo report details the claim made by the National Labor Relations Board that Amazon illegally threated its workers over their desire to have a union.

Related Article: Amazon Ends Paid Time Off COVID-19 Policy - What is the Replacement?

Amazon Labor Union President Meets with the US President

Reuters has reported that Christian Smalls met with United States President Joe Biden after the senate hearing. The Amazon Labor Union president confirmed the meeting on his official Twitter account. You can view the tweet below:

It is unclear what has been discussed during the meeting, which came a day after Smalls met with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Read Also: Amazon to Close Down Most of Its Physical Stores: Here are All Those Affected