The Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) reported that in a USA Today editorial Friday morning (March 12), Rubio expressed support for the unionization efforts of Bessemer warehouse workers in an editorial in USA Today on Friday morning, expressing support for Bessemer warehouse workers’ efforts to unionize. At the same Time, he sharply criticized Amazon in the editorial. Rubio said the retail giant has been working hard against the union organizing movement, waging a war against working-class values and using anti-competitive tactics to hurt small businesses.
Rubio writes, “For decades, companies like Amazon have been allies of the left in the Culture war, but when they themselves are threatened, they turn to conservatives to save themselves.”
He went on to say, “But the days of conservatives being taken at the whim of the business community are over.”
Rubio added that he will always stand with working-class Americans and against companies that wage a culture war against working-class values. The Florida senator also cited the example of a decision by Amazon to ban conservative books from its marketplace and to block conservative charities from participating in its programs.
He said, “My choice is simple – I support the workers.”
Rubio is the most prominent Republican to support the historic union movement, which has been backed by Democrats including President Joe Biden. A Democratic-only congressional delegation, led by Rep. Terri Sewell, an Alabama Democrat who represents the district where the Bessemer warehouse facility is located, toured the warehouse last week to support the workers who built and joined the union.
Last November, Amazon employees in Bessemer filed a notice to vote to form a union. If a simple majority passes the ballot, which begins Feb. 8 and runs through the end of March, those workers will be the first to join the union at the company.
If successful, Bessemer’s workers will join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).
We welcome the support from all sides,” RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum said in a statement Friday. Senator Rubio’s support shows that the best way for working people to gain dignity and respect in the workplace is to unionize.” “This should not be a partisan issue.”
Meanwhile, Amazon has been accused of improperly trying to interfere with union votes. The company launched an initiative to pay disgruntled workers $1,000 to quit, the Washington Post reported. Critics say it was an attempt to bribe pro-union workers into leaving.
The company has also been criticized for posting targeted ads on its live video platform Twitch encouraging Alabama workers to vote against unionization, according to technology blog The Verge.
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