Workers at the Amazon warehouse in Alabama received a surprise ally in US Senator Marco Rubio, with the Conservative MP revealing on Friday that he supports their union efforts.
The Republican senator from Florida published an article published in USA Today accusing Amazon AMZN,
he waged “a war against the values of the working class” while casting his support behind workers in Bessemer, Alabama, who have been voting since February on whether to set up a distribution facility there.
Rubio has thrown a huge blow at Seattle’s e-tailing giant and its billionaire boss, Jeff Bezos, for trying to appeal to conservatives’ traditional rejection of unions, even if he’s on the side of the Liberals on cultural issues.
“For decades, companies like Amazon have been left-wing allies in the cultural war,” he said. “But when their results are threatened, they turn to conservatives to save them.”
Rubio also dropped Amazon for using his strength to “crush small businesses” and banned conservative books on his website and traditional charities from participating in his AmazonSmile program.
Earlier this month, four members of Congress, including Rubio, wrote to Amazon about his move to snatch “When Harry Became Sally: A Response to the Transgender Moment,” a book published by conservative scientist Ryan T. Anderson in 2018 , but which recently disappeared from the Amazon website, the Kindle store and the Audible audio platform.
This week, Amazon defended its decision, saying it did so because the book frames LGBTQ identity as a mental illness. Lawmakers had previously complained about the move, saying that Amazon only removes things that the Liberals consider offensive.
In attacking Amazon’s work practices, Rubio quoted his memories as a young man going with his father, who was a bartender in Las Vegas. Rubio said his experience instilled in him the idea that “all workers deserve respect” and that Amazon sees its employees as “gear in the car.”
In his effort for workers, Rubio joins President Biden, who earlier this month released a video on his social media account expressing support for Bessemer’s workers. Although the president did not specifically mention Amazon by name, he said they have the right to vote without interference from their employer.
In a statement Friday, Amazon said: “When Senator Rubio says that Amazon is ‘waging war on working class values,’ it refers to our initial $ 15 salary, full benefits or paid parental leave that we offer workers. schedule? If he stays with American workers, as he says, he should support Senator Sanders’ minimum wage today. ”
Amazon has launched a website – doitwithoutdues.com – designed to discourage its employees from organizing. One of the slogans on the site is “Vote now and vote no.”
The impetus for organizing the Amazon store in Alabama is led by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. On Friday, RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum hailed Rubio’s support, saying that “it shows that the best way for workers to gain dignity and respect in the workplace is through unionization. This should not be a partisan issue. ”
This article was first published on NYPost.com