Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce store that started as an online bookseller, has a yacht worth half a billion dollars.
That wasn’t a typo.
He’s been so successful that his recent wedding in Venice cost $50 million and was attended by celebrities. To court a friendship with Trump, Bezos shelled out $40 million to finance a flattering documentary of Melania Trump directed by Brett Ratner, a disgraced filmmaker and friend of Jeffrey Epstein. He even found time to purchase The Washington Post, but was unwilling to use his wealth to save the jobs of reporters and journalists at his own paper doing quality work to inform the public.
However, he was able to use his power to ensure that the once storied newspaper would not use its platform to endorse Kamala Harris over Trump in the 2024 election. Bezos recently referred to Trump as “more mature, more disciplined” in his second Administration during an illegal war in Iran, a failed trade war, and ICE agents killing U.S. citizens on American streets without accountability.
While this is all happening, an Amazon factory worker died during his shift.
As his body lay on the floor, the other employees were instructed to keep working. After all, same-day shipping doesn’t happen through magic, and Bezos certainly isn’t the one driving the truck. In fact, Bezos amassed such obscene wealth through the sweat and toil of these workers who endure horrific conditions yet persist because it’s the only opportunity they have to barely make ends meet.
Maybe we don’t have to live like this.
Chris Smalls, a former Amazon employee, imagined a better path forward and successfully organized and led the first unionization of an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island. He didn’t ask for permission. He just did it. At first, he was mocked and underestimated by Amazon. How could a young, brash Black man with flamboyant style take on a corporate behemoth?
But he proved them wrong and won.
He was arrested last month while protesting the Met Gala, which was “hosted” by Jeff and Lauren Bezos. Although unions disapproved of his methods, Smalls persists and is willing to take bold actions to bring about collective change for marginalized people in America and abroad in Gaza. He charts how he was able to take on Amazon and inspire workers in his new book, “When The Revolution Comes,” which drops today.
Give him a listen.
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Thank you Lalisa, Cathy Stein, Sandra Steffen, Annette Dejesus, Bob, the Free Radical, and many others for tuning into my live video with Chris Smalls! Join me for my next live video in the app.
