Shutting down Manhattan - Amazon Labor Union marches for recognition in NYC with coalition of worker-led unions
The first two videos from a lot of footage I gathered on this trip.
Words from John
Hi!
If you need to feel less like all the forces of greed, pollution, and the worst elements of human nature are spiraling into a giant rat king threatening our imminent demise… then I suggest joining a labor action. The solidarity is infectious.
Me and my camera-woman/dear sweet girlfriend, Jess, went to catch a glimpse of the action in New York City on Labor Day. The Amazon Labor Union joined with Starbucks Workers United and worker-led unions representing REI, Trader Joes, Apple, Google and others in a march through downtown Manhattan for union recognition.
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Here are some pics I snapped, followed by the first two videos from… a lot… of footage I captured. Stay tuned for more.
Interview: Derrick Palmer, VP of Amazon Labor Union, on how they started from nothing
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Video Transcript:
John Russell 0:00
How much did you know before?
Derrick Palmer 0:01
Nothing.
John Russell 0:02
Nothing?
Derrick Palmer 0:02
I literally just went on, we went online, we did our research. We learned, like, the labor laws. My name is Derrick Palmer, I'm the Vice President of Amazon Labor Union.
John Russell 0:09 (Voiceover)
Derrick forgot to mention that he's a badass. We're at the Amazon Labor Union's march for recognition in New York City. And this is a snapshot of how they got here.
John Russell
Can you speak about ALU's experience taking on such a giant company and winning?
Derrick Palmer 0:22
It was crazy! Now, first, we're just like, wow, like, we're really doing this, you know, so we couldn't even believe that we're actually doing it. But we started to see more success by literally just us being ourselves. Talking to workers.
If you had an established union, a lot of them they wear suits and ties. So if you're trying to talk to a worker, they're gonna look at you like, "wait, hold on." There was, like, a certain playbook that unions have about their approach. We kind of had like, an unorthodox approach. You know, we had the barbecues, we had the shirts, we were very militant, outspoken, we use media, which typically unions don't really do. We're workers number one, just like them. Active employees. How you see us is how we are, you know, I'm saying we're very cool, very laid back. That's the connection, right?
It's really us knowing, you know, getting the education first. Because if we didn't get the education, we can't tell them about unions and the importance of so you have us talking to them, they're gonna be like, more curious, I mean, to say like, what's going on? Like, what are unions about, and then we started telling them the importance of unions and how they fought for, you know, child labor, and having weekends off. And, you know, just all these different rights that we have now is because of unions.
John Russell 1:23
What advice do you have for workers who might be at the stage you guys were before this became one of the biggest stories?
Derrick Palmer 1:29
The advice is just to go out and do it. You know, we literally just took a shot at it, and we got it done. We're having a nice, mass zoom call actually coming up soon. And we're gonna invite workers there. We're gonna let Jeff Bezos and them know like, it's not just Staten Island. No. This is a worldwide thing. And this is the revolution like like Chris said, this is the revolution and it starts with us and it's a beautiful thing.
Interview: Jennifer Bates, lead organizer of Bessemer, Alabama Amazon union drive
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Video Transcript:
John Russell 0:00
If you're feeling bad about stuff today, you need to go out and join a labor action. A march, a picket line, because you're gonna meet people like Jennifer Bates who I caught up with yesterday.
What do you have to say to workers about the things that are going on today?
Jennifer Bates 0:11
Well I tell them it's time to take back your power. It's time to put aside fear. We're sisters and brothers together. And I want to let them know that they're not alone. When you're in the labor movement, that means right, like I said earlier, the caterpillar knows when to go into cocoon and the butterfly knows when to fly out.
And this is the 20th century and right now the butterfly has come out of the cocoon, and the labor movement is on a move to take back the power of the workers. So what I'm saying now to all the workers across the country, take back your power. You're worth every thing that the company says you're not. And right now what we're doing today is exemplifying what unity and brothers and sisters mean to this country.
John Russell 0:56
Amazing and how does that feel?
Jennifer Bates 0:57
It feels good.
Highlight hype real by @jessica.roi
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I’m about to pick up my weekend of bar shifts at 7PM. Stay tuned next week for more footage from the ALU march. And to keep the footage coming, please become a sustaining member of The Holler for $5/mo below.