International Solidarity with Chris Smalls

Join us as we host a timely conversation with our brother and comrade Chris Smalls – a leading voice in the fight for labor rights and global justice. This summer Chris joined the Handala crew on the Freedom Flotilla and was detained in an Israeli detention center for standing in solidarity with Palestinians. We were proud to stand with him and the crew and you can read our full solidarity statement here: Black Men Build Applauds Chris Smalls and the Freedom Flotilla.

This conversation will explore the role of international solidarity in Black organizing, what moments like these mean for the future of Black labor, and how we continue to build across borders. This event is part of our monthly virtual series for members and the broader community, where we connect around the issues central to our collective liberation.

About Chris:

Chris Smalls is the founder of the Amazon Labor Union, the first independent, democratic, worker-led labor union in American History for Amazon in Staten Island, New York.

He is also the founder of The Congress of Essential Workers (TCOEW), a nationwide collective of essential workers and allies fighting for better working conditions, better wages, and a better world. Smalls was formerly an Amazon warehouse supervisor, helping open three major warehouses in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut during his five years with the company, but he was fired in 2020 after organizing a protest against the company’s unsafe pandemic conditions.

Smalls has been profiled by media outlets worldwide, including The New York Times, USA Today, BBC,The Guardian, 60 Minutes, CNN, Political, Washington Post, NYMag, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, CBC Radio, Salon, and Jacobin. Times 100 most influential in the World 2022 and 2023.