Former Amazon Employee: I Was Fired for Blowing Whistle on COVID Infections

--Chris Smalls, former Amazon employee who has become a leader of the e-commerce labor rights movement, joins David to discuss his activism, time working at Amazon, and much more

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Broadcast on February 23, 2021

#davidpakmanshow #amazon #chrissmalls

[lauriemarie]

This makes me upset. Just love how the upper management screws the little guy. I'm proud of this gentlemen. He did everything right.

[MattWhalen]

Doing the noble thing has consequences for good people.

[extrasmalldoll]

This guy is telling the truth. I worked with Amazon HR and the fulfillment centers are trash. I couldn't continue, had to move on to a new company.

[randomsasquatchwithwifi]

Id love to hear updates on his cause. He seems like he would be an excellent leader.

[atanaban]

Great interview. I remember hearing about Chris Smalls when he got fired and the smear campaign against him happened. He is very brave and has a strong moral compass. A real leader.

[lotusson]

Canceling my Prime membership was one of the best things I've done. Not simply because of Amazon's treatment of their workers (although that did play a large part), but also because of how much money I saved by not trying to "save" money. Amazon Prime is like an in-store rebate. To justify the yearly cost of Amazon Prime, I have to keep shopping at Amazon. Otherwise, I'm letting that in-store rebate go to waste. Turns out, the best way to win is to not play the game. When I'm not shopping with a "I can get this through Prime" mindset, I simply buy less stuff. In the long run, that has saved me way more money.

[lmhitchcock]

Much respect to your guest, looking out for the guys in entry level positions.

[MBarberfanlife]

If there was ever a case for unions, it's Amazon.

[swiiper_the_fox]

My cousin got promoted to floor lead before COVID and Amazon did not give a damn about health and safety for a while. Anytime he spoke up he got written up. This isnt even mentioning the time they have to be on the floor with very limited breaks and strict timely breaks. Literally if you were 30 seconds late you would get in trouble

[SarahJHug]

I remember his story from Last Week Tonight. Thanks for standing up!

[Rgnotown]

Lesson learned: don’t ever work for Amazon

[FakingANerve]

Keep in mind that Bezos could give every single one of his roughly 1 million workers a $100, 000 bonus and still be richer than he was a year ago.

[deathseeker]

I have a relative working in amazon in another country, the had people with covid working and they were told to keep quiet or be sent home so this is not surprising.

[alanbatty]

Good man for speaking out. I don't buy from amazon, the only reason is their ethics, or lack of them.

[robertholden]

I won't buy from Amazon and they have hassled me for years wanting to sell a brand I distribute in the UK. I've run out of ways to tell them to screw off.

[onlykenoli]

Great interview! This man has leadership qualities that ran against a corporate work culture focused solely on cutting operational costs, minimizing benefits to workers and maximizing profits. The richest man in the world then unleashed a smear campaign that was based on classism and racism. How pathetic of a multinational corporation to stomp the boot on the little guy? Every time this happens I get reminded of that scene from Billy Madison where the guy has to respond to the category of Business Ethics. Bezos and senior leadership, you failed your workforce.

[Draconis_]

This is a great interview. I've shared with friends who work at Amazon warehouses. It's just infuriating.

[nicholassrivas]

David how can i report something similar to this? I have family at Amazon who can confirm this as well.

[grape]

Fight back comrade. You sir have done a great thing for all workers. We must unite against the top of the country, against the 1%. Victory will come from our unity comrades. Victory will come from unity.

[LOAblue]

Blows my mind. How greedy does a person have to be, to own a company worth billions, and still treat employees like shit?