Return of unions in the United States

“A specter haunts the United States – the specter of a new labor movement” one might say, based on a famous quote from Karl Marx. Because in the last few months, in the heart of capitalism of all places, the trade union movement has been on the rise. Some of the most dazzling names have been affected: parent Alphabet from Google, coffee chain Starbucks, and tech giants Apple and Amazon.

The face of the new movement is not a typical union official, but a relatively young, fashionably dressed black man from New Jersey. Christian Smalls has worked at an Amazon Fulfillment Center in Staten Island, New York for five years. He also became the protagonist at the instigation of the group. In a leaked internal statement, the former hip-hop musician was described as “neither smart nor straightforward.” Even David Zapolsky, Amazon’s chief legal officer, advised him to make him the first man on the union initiative, believing it would be easy to discredit it.

The shot should backfire. Two years later, the magazine describes the time Smalls as the man who defeated Amazon. The online giant is the second largest employer in the US and has been successfully fighting unions in its positions until the spring of this year.

Propaganda battles

In order for a “union” to be established in the United States, the majority of the employees somewhere must vote for it. If this succeeds, the union becomes the collective representation of workers versus management. In order to prevent this, American companies invest a lot of money, according to estimates by the Economic Policy Institute, about $318 million (€318 million) annually. Specialized law firms and consulting firms hold informational events for this, which employees must attend.