Progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told Amazon’s first union workers in New York on Sunday that their victory was the “first fallen domino” in what she expects to be a wave of similar votes for representation across the country.
The left-wing Democrat joined Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on the Staten Island stage to celebrate the historic achievement and call on workers at more Amazon facilities in the United States to follow suit.
“What happened here – what you did in Staten Island – was just the beginning. It was the first domino to fall, “she said, noting that workers at Amazon’s second sorting facility in New York City voted on Monday.
“We have new elections tomorrow and we will support them in that. And the day after, and the day after, all the way. But what Amazon has to do first and foremost is recognize the alliance that won their election. “
Amazon has so far refused to recognize the vote at its Staten Island Enforcement Center after it was accused of intimidating and harassing workers during an anti-union message campaign and spending millions of dollars to try to ensure the vote failed .
Immediately after the result, Amazon, owned by the world’s second richest man Jeff Bezos, whose personal fortune is estimated by Forbes at $ 170 billion, went to court to try to overturn the result.
“First and foremost, Amazon, Jeff Bezos, everyone, we have to acknowledge the fact that they did this thing and they won fair elections,” said Ocasio-Cortez.
Bernie Sanders at the Staten Island rally. Photo: Andrew Kelly / Reuters
“You have to treat our people right. You can give our workers a bath break, you can make sure that you treat people well and provide them with solid health care and that they do not have a three-hour trip to and from work, that they can afford a house that they can live in, that people will not sleep in their cars to work for Amazon.
“It’s all humiliation and injustice and there’s no place in New York and we’re going to change that, and that’s where our workers here are going to change that.”
Sanders was just as sarcastic about Amazon’s attitude toward workers. “When you have a corporation that makes huge profits, you know what, you can pay your workers good wages, provide good benefits and you can have decent working conditions, not what you have right now,” he said.
Addressing Chris Smalls, the trade unionist behind the successful New York vote, and fellow activists present, Sanders added: “You may not know this, but you have been an inspiration to millions of workers across the country who have watched you,” he said. these Staten Island boys opposed an extremely powerful corporation. If they can do it on Staten Island, we can do it all over this country. “
Sanders also fired on the centrist Democrats, Senators Joe Manchin and Kirsten Cinema, who he said were “sabotaging” the American working class with their opposition to Joe Biden’s social reform agenda.
Although he did not mention them by name, he was clearly attacking the two Democrats, whose opposition to Biden’s social spending, welfare and climate change package blocked his passage through Congress.
“To accept it, we need at least 50 Democrats who will stand up to this country’s working class, we don’t have it,” he said.
“We have several people who are busy sabotaging the working class agenda.
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