The union fight at Amazon is a fight for Black lives
With the historic union election at the Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama, underway, we sit down with Joshua Brewer, one of the lead union organizers involved with the campaign, to talk about what a union would mean for this majority-Black community.
MANHATTAN, NY - JUNE 02: The back of a protester's sign has the Amazon logo next to another protester's sign that says, "Black Lives Matter". Protesters walked from Foley Square to Washington Square Park for a peaceful moment of reflection for those that have been killed. Photographed in the Manhattan Borough of New York on June 02, 2020, USA. (Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images)
In the latest installment of our special series “Battleground Bessemer,” TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez sits down with Joshua Brewer of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) Mid-South Council. Brewer is one of the lead organizers involved with the historic campaign to unionize 5,800 workers at the Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama. In this interview, conducted at the RWDSU Mid-South Council headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama, Alvarez and Brewer talk about Amazon workers’ arduous path to get to this point, and they discuss what a union at the Bessemer facility would mean for a workforce and for a town that is majority Black or African-American.
To see more of our in-depth coverage of the historic Amazon union drive in Bessemer, which we’ll be bringing you throughout the month of March, subscribe to our YouTube and podcast channels, and visit our “Battleground Bessemer” series page on our website.
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The union fight at Amazon is a fight for Black lives
by Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network March 18, 2021
Editor-in-Chief
Ten years ago, I was working 12-hour days as a warehouse temp in Southern California while my family, like millions of others, struggled to stay afloat in the wake of the Great Recession. Eventually, we lost everything, including the house I grew up in. It was in the years that followed, when hope seemed irrevocably lost and help from above seemed impossibly absent, that I realized the life-saving importance of everyday workers coming together, sharing our stories, showing our scars, and reminding one another that we are not alone. Since then, from starting the podcast Working People—where I interview workers about their lives, jobs, dreams, and struggles—to working as Associate Editor at the Chronicle Review and now as Editor-in-Chief at The Real News Network, I have dedicated my life to lifting up the voices and honoring the humanity of our fellow workers.