Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., sided with the workers at the center of a fight to unionize at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama.
The Sunshine State senator unleashed a thunderstorm on Amazon in an op-ed published on Friday, taking the company to task for their “war against working-class values” and their attempt to prevent workers from unionizing.
Rubio said the company “fears” workers taking part in conversations about “workplace conditions” and accused Amazon of trying to “crush the union vote” of workers organizing in Bessemer, Alabama.
He went on to write that he supports “the workers” in their efforts to unionize in the wake of Amazon’s controversial corporate policies.
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“Here’s my standard: When the conflict is between working Americans and a company whose leadership has decided to wage culture war against working-class values, the choice is easy — I support the workers,” wrote Rubio. “And that’s why I stand with those at Amazon’s Bessemer warehouse today.”
In a press release sent out Friday, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) ‒ which is leading the push for unionization ‒ applauded Rubio’s support for the Amazon warehouse workers, saying it “demonstrates” the role unions were created to play in labor relations.
“We welcome support from all quarters. Senator Rubio’s support demonstrates that the best way for working people to achieve dignity and respect in the workplace is through unionization. This should not be a partisan issue.”
The senator wrote in his op-ed that “Republicans have rightly understood” the issues surrounding the “unchecked influence of labor unions” and that bad relations “between labor and management are wrong” for all parties involved and the nation’s economy.
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“But the days of conservatives being taken for granted by the business community are over,” wrote the senator.
Rubio called out Amazon for being “allies of the left in the culture war” while running back to conservatives “to save them” when they are “threatened.” He also torched Amazon as engaging in “anticompetitive strategies” to destroy small businesses as well as caving to “Chinese censorship demands.”
“Amazon’s opposition to the union effort in its own backyard is also inconsistent with the progressive values it has forced on everyone else,” the senator wrote. “If Amazon thinks that conservatives will automatically rally to do its bidding after proving itself to be such enthusiastic culture warriors, it is sorely mistaken.”
Rubio’s op-ed comes as Amazon faces a historic push for unionization.
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The RWDSU told FOX Business on Thursday that over 1,000 Amazon workers from around the country have been asking about the unionization efforts.
“More than 1,000 Amazon workers from around the country have reached out to the RWDSU seeking information about unionizing their workplaces,” Chelsea Connor, a spokesperson for the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) and BAmazonUnion campaign told FOX Business.
Fox News’ Audrey Conklin and Greg Norman contributed to this report.
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