Amazon union head, others meet at White House on organizing
Vice President Kamala Harris and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh met with union organizers at the White House on Thursday as the administration looks to boost unionization campaigns.
Participants in the meeting, which featured an unscheduled appearance by President Joe Biden, discussed organizers’ efforts to form unions in their workplaces, and how those could prompt workers around the country to mount similar organization campaigns, according to a readout from the White House. Biden thanked them for bolstering organizing momentum that is growing nationally.
Among the guests were Chris Smalls, who heads the Amazon Labor Union that won a vote last month to unionize warehouse workers on Staten Island, New York. Addressing a union conference in Washington last month, Biden quipped, “By the way, Amazon here we come,” drawing loud cheers, though he didn’t elaborate.