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The Daily

How Two Friends Beat Amazon and Built a Union: An Update

This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since they first ran. This year, we explored the story of Christian Smalls and Derrick Palmer, two Amazon workers at a warehouse in New York City, who had embarked on an improbable attempt to create the company’s first union and succeeded. Today, we return to their story and learn about the current state of their organizing effort. Guest: Jodi Kantor, an investigative reporter for The New York Times; and Christian Smalls and Derrick Palmer, warehouse workers who led the first successful unionization attempt at Amazon.
Duration
46m
Broadcast on
27 Dec 2022
Audio Format
other

This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since they first ran.

This year, we explored the story of Christian Smalls and Derrick Palmer, two Amazon workers at a warehouse in New York City, who had embarked on an improbable attempt to create the company’s first union and succeeded.

Today, we return to their story and learn about the current state of their organizing effort.

Guest: Jodi Kantor, an investigative reporter for The New York Times; and Christian Smalls and Derrick Palmer, warehouse workers who led the first successful unionization attempt at Amazon.

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For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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This podcast is supported by TikTok. Sometimes the most interesting discoveries are the ones you weren't looking for. That happens every day on TikTok. A science experiment can spark a whole new interest. A recipe you stumble upon can become a meal you make for the people you love. And a restaurant you've never heard of might become your new favorite spot. That's the thing about TikTok. Follow your curiosity and see where it leads. Your next discovery is waiting on TikTok. Hey, it's Michael. This week, the Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and learning what's happened in the time since they first ran. Today, we return to the story of how two friends and fellow warehouse workers, Chris Smalls and Derek Palmer, beat the odds to form Amazon's first union and learn the current state of their organizing efforts. It's Tuesday, December 27th. (chiming) - So, Chris and Derek, this is my colleague, Michael, just the host of the Daily. - Hi, I'm Dolan. I'm really grateful 'cause I know you guys are in the middle of what is perhaps the biggest moment of your lives that you've made time talk to us. - Oh, absolutely. - Thank you. - Thank you, really, very much. - So, Chris and Derek, I wanna start by asking you both about how you came to Amazon and to the JFK 8 warehouse in the first place. What was it that brought you both there? - Well, I was employed for Amazon since 2015. I was an entry-level worker, got hired as a picker warehouse associate, got promoted into a process assistant my first year, opened up three facilities for Amazon. - Wow. - You know, JFK was actually my last facility. - So, I had kind of a veteran at this point. - Right, right, at this time, I was already, you know, a PA for over four years, trained hundreds of their employees, trained management as well. I was hired within the company. And so, I applied to relocate to JFK, which didn't open yet, I was still under construction. So, that was my plan to get into that building upon launch. And I knew as a, having a seniority, I should be able to pick my shift in the days and times

Transcription truncated.

This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since they first ran. This year, we explored the story of Christian Smalls and Derrick Palmer, two Amazon workers at a warehouse in New York City, who had embarked on an improbable attempt to create the company’s first union and succeeded. Today, we return to their story and learn about the current state of their organizing effort. Guest: Jodi Kantor, an investigative reporter for The New York Times; and Christian Smalls and Derrick Palmer, warehouse workers who led the first successful unionization attempt at Amazon.