Workers at Amazon’s warehouse in Alabama got a surprise ally from U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, and the Conservative lawmaker revealed Friday that he supports his efforts to unionize.
The Florida Republican senator posted a post on USA Today accusing Amazon AMZN,
of waging “a war against working class values,” as he gave his support to workers in Bessemer, Alabama, who have been voting since February to organize a distribution facility there.
Rubio blew up Seattle-based electronics giant and billionaire boss Jeff Bezos to try to appeal to the conservatives’ traditional rejection of unions, even when he sided with liberals on cultural issues.
“For decades, companies like Amazon have been left-wing allies in the cultural war,” he said. “But when their end result is threatened, they turn to the Conservatives to save them.”
Similarly, Rubio criticized Amazon for using its strength to “crush small businesses” and banning conservative books from its website and traditional charities from participating in its AmazonSmile program.
Earlier this month, four members of Congress, including Rubio, wrote to Amazon about their move to release “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment,” a book published by conservative academic Ryan T .Anderson in 2018, but recently disappeared from Amazon’s website, Kindle store and Audible audiobook 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 measure, saying Amazon only removes things that liberals find offensive.
When it came to attacking Amazon’s work practices, Rubio also cited his memories when he was a boy walking down the picket line with his father, who was a hotel 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 “gears in a machine.”
In his commitment to workers, Rubio joins President Biden, who earlier this month posted a video on his social media account where he expressed his support for Bessemer workers. Although the president did not specifically mention Amazon by name, he said they have the right to vote without the interference of their employer.
In a statement, Amazon said Friday, “When Senator Rubio says Amazon is“ waging war against working class values, ”it means our $ 15 starting salary, full benefits, or paid parental leave that we provide to If he stays with American workers as he says he should, he should approve Senator Sanders’ minimum wage today. ”
Amazon launched a website, doitwithoutdues.com, designed to deter its employees from getting organized. One of the site’s slogans is “Vote now and vote no.”
The drive to organize Amazon’s Alabama store is being led by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. On Friday, RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum welcomed Rubio’s support, saying that “it shows that the best way for working people to achieve dignity and respect for the workplace is through unionization. It should not be a partisan theme “.
This article was first published on NYPost.com