- President Biden called out Amazon in a speech on Wednesday while voicing support for unions.
- He said the choice to join a union should belong to “workers alone,” adding: “Amazon, here we come.”
- Workers at a warehouse in Staten Island, NY, became the first to unionize at Amazon on Friday.
President Joe Biden called out Amazon during a speech to the national conference of North America’s Building Trade Unions on Wednesday.
Biden said he believes unions are about “providing dignity and respect for people who bust their neck,” and added that the White House has a task force with the goal to “make sure the choice to join a union belongs to workers alone.”
“Amazon, here we come. Watch,” he later added.
The President’s apparent warning to the tech giant comes less than a week after Amazon workers at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York became the first to successfully unionize at the company.
The Amazon Labor Union won with 2654 votes for, versus 2131 against — despite the tech giant’s efforts to keep unions out of its facilities.
“We’re disappointed with the outcome of the election in Staten Island because we believe having a direct relationship with the company is best for our employees,” the company said in a statement following the vote.
Biden previously broadcasted his support for union drives in “Alabama and all across America” during February of last year, when Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama, first voted on whether or not to unionize. However, he did not single out Amazon by name at the time.
Amazon workers in Bessemer also counted votes last week, but the results are still too close to call.
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