Christian Smalls, who was planning to organize Amazon workers to form a union, was arrested on Wednesday, accused of breaking and entering a warehouse to distribute food to workers, this as part of a union campaign he is leading.
Smalls, a former Amazon employee, and two others have been charged with obstructing the trespassing arrest, said Lt. John Grimpel of the New York City Police Department , adding that Smalls was also charged with trespassing.
The other two individuals arrested were Amazon workers. Smalls said all three were later released, adding that he disputed the charges and will continue his battle in court.
Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said Smalls repeatedly invaded the facility despite multiple warnings. The company had not contacted the police to accuse its employees, but only to report Smalls.
Smalls, of 33 years, seeks to convert Amazon’s JFK8 warehouse, located on Staten Island, into a unionized facility. This will be decided on 25 March when the workers vote.
A second election is currently taking place at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, and voting by mail is accepted through 25 March and vote counting begins on 28 of March. Last year, workers at that warehouse voted against unionizing.
A majority vote to unionize at either of the facility would mark Amazon’s first unionized warehouse in the United States and a triumph for those seeking to strengthen the American labor movement.
Smalls said he brought food Wednesday afternoon to for employees to distribute it, something he has done for months. Meals in the break room were Smalls’ opportunity to build relationships with workers.
But this last time, Smalls said the Amazon manager who fired him two years ago told him that left and then called the police.
“I am literally a visitor. Do they call the police about taxi drivers and Uber drivers waiting for associates?” Smalls said, adding that Amazon wanted to increase the intimidation factor through his arrest.
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