- Chris Smalls has drawn increasing criticism from members of his own union.
- A dissenting group of organizers broke with Smalls and sued for elections.
- The factions reached a settlement that could see Smalls voted out.
Chris Smalls, the former Amazon warehouse worker who electrified a labor movement by winning the first union election at an Amazon facility, could be voted out as the president of the union he founded, according to terms of a settlement agreement.
Smalls has come under increasing criticism from within the Amazon Labor Union, with some members charging that he appears more concerned with consolidating his own power than with addressing workers’ issues or fighting for a contract.
Last year, Smalls pushed through an amended union constitution that postponed leadership elections until the ALU reached a contract with Amazon — effectively guaranteeing he would remain the union’s president for years. That move met backlash from some members, more than 850 of whom signed a petition calling for elections.
A core group of organizers, including one of the union’s founders, Connor Spence, peeled away from Smalls and sued the Amazon Labor Union in July, demanding it hold elections. That suit settled Friday with an agreement to hold elections next year, according to a summary of negotiations that appeared in court records.
Smalls did not respond to a request for comment.
After winning the union election at a Staten Island warehouse last year, Smalls rocketed to national fame, gracing red carpets and magazine covers; traveling to the White House for a meeting with President Joe Biden; and landing a book deal and a Hollywood agent.
Behind the scenes, Smalls was growing removed from the work of union organizing, some organizers said. The union lost elections at Amazon warehouses in Staten Island and Albany. The lead organizer at the Albany warehouse, Heather Goodall, previously told BI that she was never sure when — or if — Smalls would show up for events.
Tensions escalated last winter. Smalls was filmed fighting a former union organizer in front of the Amazon warehouse. Days later, the split between Smalls and the dissident organizers became official at a meeting where Smalls announced the constitutional amendment and told people who disagreed with him to leave, the New York Times reported.
The union’s vice president, Derrick Palmer, resigned in May after Business Insider revealed he had been charged with assault for allegedly choking his girlfriend. The case is pending, Palmer’s lawyer confirmed.
Before suing the Amazon Labor Union, the dissenters first attempted to work through a mediator to resolve their differences with Smalls. One day before the first mediation session was scheduled to begin, Smalls’ camp pulled out, according to documents included in the lawsuit.
“It is clear that the ALU’s leadership must be re-organized and re-affirmed by the membership,” the mediator, Bill Fletcher, wrote in a June memo to both sides after Smalls and his supporters declined mediation.
“At a point where there needs to be profound internal organizing to develop a contract campaign to take on Amazon,” he wrote, “the union’s president appears to focus little on the internal situation and is more focused externally.”
Chris Smalls disputed characterizations of himself as a “celebrity” more focused on fame than when reached for comment.
“I don’t give a damn about Joe Biden or Hollywood red carpets never did,” Smalls wrote in an email to Business Insider. “I had media attention way before the union was a thought.”
He signed a book deal, he said, “to help support our documentary with [sic] now is successfully premiering in Sundance.”
Smalls argued the dissenting group that left the union last year “never even read the constitution” which included their proposals. He asserted the ALU has continued organizing and assisting workers despite the split.
Regarding a recent settlement requiring union elections, Smalls said its primary purpose is unity and “undoing the damage you guys caused by spreading lies and misinformation all year.” He said there will first be a February membership meeting to decide if members even want elections.
He emphasized the current priority is bargaining preparation and getting an Amazon contract, not holding elections.
Amazon appears intent on pulling the union into a lengthy legal battle over the validity of the election rather than give in to the union’s demands that it begin contract negotiations. The National Labor Relations Board certified the union’s win in January, but Amazon has appealed that ruling. The union has also asked the board to force Amazon to meet it at the bargaining table. Both complaints are pending.
The company has also continued to restrict ongoing organizing.
Spence, who was a key part of the Amazon Labor Union’s organizing campaign and is now a member of the dissident caucus, was fired last month for violating what Amazon calls its “off-duty access policy” limiting when employees can be at the warehouse. Union organizers have said the policy unfairly restricts their ability to engage with their coworkers. Spence has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board to overturn Amazon’s discipline.
