Writing in USA today on Friday, senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) made a surprise endorsement of a fledgling union at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. In the article, Rubio frames the union campaign as a necessary response to Amazon’s invading power, a longtime target for Republicans.
“When the conflict is between American workers and a company whose leadership has decided to wage a cultural war against the values of the working class, the choice is easy – I support the workers,” writes Rubio in the article. “And that’s why I’m with those at Amazon’s Bessemer warehouse today.”
Bessemer warehouse workers are in the process of voting on unionization, overseen by the National Labor Relations Board. Amazon tried to delay the vote or demand the vote in person, but both efforts were unsuccessful. The electoral process will be concluded at the end of the month, requiring a simple majority to certify the union.
The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which will represent Bessemer workers if the union campaign is successful, applauded the article. “We have received support from all quarters,” said RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum in a statement. “Senator Rubio’s support demonstrates that the best way for workers to achieve dignity and respect in the work environment is through unionization. This should not be a partisan issue. “
Amazon has mounted an aggressive campaign to oppose the union movement, posting materials in the workplace and running digital ads on a variety of platforms highlighting the benefits of a workplace without unions. In one incident, Amazon managers worked with local county officials to change the hours on a street lamp near the warehouse, an action that union organizers believe was taken to prevent the union campaign.
Coming from a conservative Republican, the endorsement will surprise many – but it is not the first time that Rubio has offered measured support to unions. On a Atlantic In an essay in December 2018, he wrote “Any discussion of the dignity of work must mention the unions”, referring to his father’s experience with the Culinary Workers Union.
Notably, the article does not come to a general endorsement of organized work, arguing that “adverse working relationships are generally harmful”. Rubio also frames his support for the union in conservative terms, presenting it as a bulwark against cultural liberalism in the workplace. “Today may be the conditions of the workplace,” writes the senator, “but tomorrow it may be a requirement that workers adopt the latest ‘awakening’ fashion of management human resources.”
The article was published after a video statement by President Biden earlier this month that expressed broad support for workers’ right to unionize in Alabama and elsewhere, warning employers against anti-union efforts in a sentence that many considered it targeted at Amazon. “There should be no intimidation,” says Biden in the video, “without coercion, without threats, without anti-union propaganda.”
The fight for the Bessemer trade union movement is expected to reach Congress as early as next week. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was invited to testify on the Wednesday before the Senate Budget Committee next week, on the same day that a worker at the Bessemer factory is due to speak.
The committee is chaired by Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT), one of the early supporters of Bessemer’s organizing campaign in Congress. “You can’t overstate how powerful it will be if Amazon workers in Alabama vote to form a union,” Sanders said in February. “If they win, it will not only improve wages and working conditions in Bessemer, but it will also send a shock wave across the country.”