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amazon labor union
US Gaza Freedom Flotilla Members Say No Consular Support Given After Abduction by Israeli Forces
Flotilla members said labor organizer Chris Smalls—the last remaining American volunteer still in Israeli custody—was brutally assaulted by his captors.
Jul 30, 2025
The Trump administration failed to provide any consular support to American volunteers kidnapped last week by Israel Defense Forces troops in international waters while trying to deliver humanitarian aid to starving Gazans, freed U.S. detainees said Wednesday.
"No U.S. Embassy officials have visited us or inquired about our condition—despite our repeated appeals," detained professor Frank Romano, a citizen of both the U.S. and France, said before his transfer Wednesday to an unspecified Israeli airport for deportation.
Four other Handala volunteers who were aboard the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) vessel Handala—Vigdis Bjorvand (Norway), Santiago González Vallejo (Spain), Braedon Peluso (United States), and Sergio Toribio Sanchez (Spain)—were also taken to the airport for deportation on Wednesday. Two other Americans aboard the Handala, attorney Huwaida Arraf and 77-year-old Bob Suberi, were released earlier from Israeli custody along with some of the other 19 FFC volunteers who were seized.
One American, Amazon Labor Union (ALU) co-founder Chris Smalls, remains in Israeli detention at Givon Prison, along with Hatem Aouini of Tunisia.
According to the Israeli legal advocacy group Adalah: "They are being held in overcrowded, poorly ventilated cells, without ventilation or cooling, despite the extreme summer heat. They are being denied basic hygiene supplies, and their sleeping areas are infested with bedbugs. With no yard time, they remain confined in closed rooms all day, without fresh air or space to move."
FFC said Smalls—the only Black activist aboard the Handala—"was physically assaulted by seven uniformed individuals" after his capture, which occurred without resistance.
"They choked him and kicked him in the legs, leaving visible signs of violence on his neck and back," the coalition said in a Tuesday Instagram post. "When his lawyer met with him, Christian was surrounded by six members of Israel's special police unit. This level of force was not used against other abducted activists."
Jacob Berger, an American actor aboard the Handala who arrived in New York on Tuesday, said in an Instagram video that Smalls "is in great spirits" and "appreciates all the support and love" he's received. "Remember, we have to keep all eyes on Gaza."
Still, advocates questioned why the mainstream media has given little coverage to Smalls, a public figure who met with former President Joe Biden at the White House after leading the drive to unionize Amazon warehouse workers in New York.
Chris Smalls met w/ Biden at WH, but not ONE major outlet covered the IDF detaining & beating Smalls w/ @freedomflotilla.bsky.social. Smalls was choked & beaten by 7 IDF soldiers. paydayreport.com/amazon-union...
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— Mike Elk (@mikeelk.bsky.social) July 29, 2025 at 2:48 AM
"Despite Smalls having been profiled by every major media outlet in the U.S. when he successfully led the union drive at Amazon, not a single major media outlet has covered his violent detention by the IDF three days ago," Payday Report senior labor reporter Mike Elk wrote Tuesday.
Elk called out Teamsters president Sean O'Brien, who "has stayed silent on the detention of Smalls, who founded the Amazon Labor Union, which is now an affiliate of the Teamsters."
Pretty hard to believe that the particularly heinous and brutal treatment Christian Smalls was subjected to by Israeli authorities was not a function of racism given it was not inflicted on other Handala detainees.And the US media dgaf.
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— Nathan Kalman-Lamb (@nkalamb.bsky.social) July 29, 2025 at 4:53 AM
The executive board of ALU-IBT Local 1 said on social media Tuesday, "We demand the immediate and unconditional release of all detained activists aboard the flotilla, an end to targeted racist treatment, and we call on the broader labor movement to take a stance for Palestinian liberation."
" Gaza has been under a relentless and inhumane military assault for nearly two years," the board added. "This genocide has caused mass starvation, the forced displacement of millions, and the intentional deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians. There is an immediate need for unrestricted food and medical aid to Gaza."
On Tuesday, the Gaza Health Ministry said that the death toll from Israel's 662-day assault and siege on Gaza topped 60,000, although that figure is likely a vast undercount, according to multiple peer-reviewed studies.
Also on Tuesday, the United Nations-affiliated Integrated Phase Food Security Classification warned that the "worst-case scenario" has already taken hold in Gaza, where half a million people are enduring famine-like conditions, more than 20,000 children have been treated for malnutrition since April, and at least 147 people—including at least 88 children—have died of starvation, according to U.N. and local officials.
The Handala was the third FFC vessel to attempt to break Israel's decadeslong blockade and deliver aid to Gaza since Israel launched its war and siege on Gaza after the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack.
In May, the Conscience was attacked twice in international waters off Malta, presumably by Israeli forces. No one was harmed in what FFC said was a drone strike on the ship. However, the activists were forced to abort their mission.
Last month, Israeli forces seized the U.K.-flagged Madleen and detained its crew members as they sought to deliver food, children's prosthetics, and other supplies to Gaza. FFC volunteers aboard the Madleen included Rima Hassan—a member of the European Parliament—and Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Fifteen years ago, Israeli forces raided an FFC convoy carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. The Israeli attackers killed nine FFC volunteers aboard the MV Mavi Marmara, including Turkish-American teenager Furkan Doğan.
FFC volunteers vowed to keep trying to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza, despite the risks to their lives and liberty.
"Our countries are allowing Israel to deliberately starve Palestinians as part of this genocidal campaign that it has been carrying out. And we are horrified and not going to sit by and not do anything about it," Arraf told Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman during a Monday interview.
"We will not stop," Arraf added. "So we are actively working on another one. We want the whole world to see the extent to which Israel goes to prevent baby formula from getting into Gaza, and hopefully rise up in all ways possible. Until the siege is broken, the genocide ends, and Palestine is free, we will continue sailing."
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Where's the Outrage Over Labor Leader Chris Smalls' Violent Arrest by the IDF?
Despite Smalls having been profiled by every major media outlet in the U.S. when he successfully led the union drive at Amazon, not a single major media outlet has covered his violent detention by the IDF three days ago.
Jul 29, 2025
On Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces boarded the Handala, a ship associated with the Flotilla Freedom Coalition, that was attempting to reach Gaza with supplies for starving Palestinians. The IDF detained 21 activists, who had their hands held up, in graphic images that were captured by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
Among those on the ship was Chris Smalls, who gained fame when he led a successful union drive at Amazon in Staten Island in 2022. Former U.S. President Joe Biden even invited Smalls to meet with him at the White House to strategize on union organizing in 2022.
On Monday, details emerged that not only was Smalls detained, but he was physically beaten by the IDF. He was the only Black member of the Freedom Flotilla on the Handala.
"The Freedom Flotilla Coalition confirms that upon arrival in Israeli custody, U.S. human rights defender, Christian Smalls, was physically assaulted by seven uniformed individuals," wrote the Freedom Flotilla Coalition on Instagram. "They choked him and kicked him in the legs, leaving visible signs of violence on his neck and back."
His international union leader, Teamsters union president Sean O'Brien, has stayed silent on the detention of Smalls.
Still, despite Smalls having been profiled by every major media outlet in the U.S. when he successfully led the union drive at Amazon, not a single major media outlet has covered his violent detention by the IDF three days ago.
In 2022, The New York Times even ran a Style section profile on his fashion choices among more than a dozen pieces that they ran on his organizing efforts, but the paper has not said anything about the detention and beating of a high-profile labor activist at the hands of the IDF. Only three smaller left-leaning outlets, Zeteo, The Grio, and Jezebel, covered it.
"This totally makes sense," wrote University of New Brunswick Professor Nathan Kalman-Lamb on Bluesky. "A notable public figure in the U.S. (Amazon labor organizer Christian Smalls) is illegally arrested by Israel and subjected to severe physical violence while on a hunger strike… and not one U.S. media outlet of any type has decided that is news."
Some union leaders have already begun to speak out about his detention.
"As a union, we are demanding the immediate release of Chris Smalls and all captured activists," said the 29,000-member California Faculty Association in a statement late Monday. "We further call for an immediate end to the engineered famine and deliberate starving of the people in Gaza, labor complicity with genocide, and all U.S. military aid to Israel".
Other unions are expected to denounce the beating and detention of Smalls by the IDF.
However, his international union leader, Teamsters union president Sean O'Brien, has stayed silent on the detention of Smalls, who founded the Amazon Labor Union, which is now an affiliate of the Teamsters.
Instead, the Teamsters President Sean O'Brien took to social media to advertise his upcoming interview with fascist commentator Vivek Ramaswamy and his 3 million right-wing followers.
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'Stronger Than Ever': Amazon Labor Union Cements Alliance With Teamsters
"Having the support of 1.3 million Teamsters to take on Amazon gives us tremendous worker power and the opportunities to demand better conditions for our members," said ALU president Chris Smalls.
Jun 18, 2024
In a near-unanimous vote, members of the grassroots Amazon Labor Union have decided to formally affiliate with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters as they work to secure a contract at a Staten Island facility that won a historic union election more than two years ago.
The Teamsters announced the result early Tuesday morning after three days of voting. The union said that 98.3% of voting ALU members came down in favor of affiliating with the Teamsters, which has 1.3 million members.
Chris Smalls, president of the ALU, said in a statement that he is proud of his group's members for "choosing a path to victory" and argued the decision would leave the union better-positioned to organize additional Amazon facilities.
"We're now stronger than ever before," said Smalls. "Having the support of 1.3 million Teamsters to take on Amazon gives us tremendous worker power and the opportunities to demand better conditions for our members and, most importantly, to secure a contract at JFK8."
" Workers at Amazon—in the warehouses or behind the wheel—have proven they have the strength, unity, and determination to take on the greediest employer on the planet, and win."
Since emerging victorious at JFK8 in Staten Island—the first-ever Amazon facility in the U.S. to unionize—ALU has fallen short in two consecutive elections at other New York warehouses after Amazon engaged in aggressive and illegal union-busting efforts. Last year, the e-commerce behemoth spent more than $3 million on anti-union consultants.
At JFK8, Amazon has refused to recognize or bargain with the ALU as it continues to contest the results of the 2022 election, drawing a complaint from the National Labor Relations Board last year.
The Washington Post—owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos—reported earlier this month that the youth advocacy group Gen-Z for Change has launched an email-writing campaign "aimed at pressuring the federal agency to force Amazon to negotiate with the labor union" at JFK8.
The Teamsters union, meanwhile, told the ALU that it has allocated $8 million toward organizing efforts at Amazon, according to The New York Times.
"ALU-International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 1, which will be newly chartered, will represent the roughly 5,500 Amazon warehouse workers at JFK8 in Staten Island, New York and will have jurisdiction for Amazon warehouse workers across New York's five boroughs," the Teamsters announced Tuesday.
Sean O'Brien, general president of the Teamsters, said in a statement that "workers at Amazon—in the warehouses or behind the wheel—have proven they have the strength, unity, and determination to take on the greediest employer on the planet, and win."
"Together, with hard work, courage, and conviction, the Teamsters and ALU will fight fearlessly to ensure Amazon workers secure the good jobs and safe working conditions they deserve in a union contract," O'Brien continued. "The Teamsters set the standard with our agreement protecting 340,000 UPS warehouse workers and drivers in this industry. You can be certain that we will hold Amazon to these same standards, and not the other way around."
"As long as Amazon exploits and abuses workers," he added, "this corporate bully will have to answer to the Teamsters and ALU, standing together."
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