Hello there. You're about to watch
an episode of The Daily Show.
That means there's some news and some jokes on the way.
So if you like laughing and news,
you're in the right (bleep) place, honey.
♪ ♪
ANNOUNCER: Coming to you from New York City,
the only city in America,
it's The Daily Show.
Tonight,
Netflix and sell,
Earth Day is for losers,
and Chris Smalls.
This is The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.
(cheering and applause)
What's going on, everybody?
Welcome to The Daily Show.
I'm Trevor Noah. Thank you so much for tuning in.
Thank you for coming out.
Thank you for being here, everybody. Wow!
Oh, wow, this is so much fun. Thank you so much.
Take a seat, take a seat, take a seat.
Thank you so much for being here.
Uh, first things first, happy 4/20, everybody.
-(cheering and applause) -Yes, happy 4/20.
Yes. If, uh, if anybody is celebrating
in the audience right now,
I just want to say everyone knows,
and we're judging you.
Hope that doesn't make you paranoid.
We have an amazing show tonight.
Our guest is the former Amazon employee
who started the first-ever Amazon union.
Chris Smalls is gonna be joining us. Yes.
-(cheering and applause) -And...
And later on, Ronny Chieng is gonna to hit the streets
to see how New Yorkers are celebrating Earth Day,
and then he roasts them for it.
But first, let's jump straight into today's headlines.
-♪ ♪ -(cheering and applause)
All right, let's kick things off
with the big news about Netflix.
Today, the streaming giant
saw their shares drop lower than your grandma
when they play "September" at a wedding.
And when you're a company worth $150 billion
with 200 million subscribers,
your crash makes everyone panic.
NEWSWOMAN: Shares of streaming giant Netflix
cratering after the company reported losing subscribers
for the first time in more than a decade.
That stock is losing about a quarter of its value
in premarket trading.
It was already down
more than 40% year to date.
NEWSMAN: Netflix saying more than 200,000 subscribers
left the service in the first three months of the year.
Now observers are asking
if viewers will have to binge-watch
their favorite Netflix show with ads in between.
It's something CEO Reed Hastings hasn't ruled out.
Allowing consumers who would like to have a lower price
and are advertising tolerant, um, get what they want
makes a lot of sense.
Damn, Netflix is in trouble.
Which is so surprising,
because me and the 43 people I share my account with,
we're still watching it all the time.
-We watch all the time. Like... -(cheering and applause)
I thought they were doing well.
And-and you know how you know Netflix is in trouble
is because they're even considering ads.
Yeah. They're gonna have, like, a separate ad section of Netflix
if you don't want to pay the full thing.
And you realize, for years,
Netflix has hated ads.
Yeah, the idea of... They treated ads
the same way French people treat everything.
Yeah, just like, "Oh, what are you breathing, oxygen?"
(chuckles) "Ah, what a loser.
Where do you live, on Earth? You're not living."
(chuckles)
Now, now, there are many reasons
why Netflix subscriptions are down, right?
Password sharing, uh, inflation,
uh, Regé-Jean Page leaving Bridgerton.
Yeah. No, I'm-I'm sorry.
You want us to pay 15 bucks a month without that ass?
I don't think so. I don't think so.
(cheering and applause)
$12.99 at best.
And now Netflix executives
are being forced to consider multiple options.
Only problem is, knowing Netflix,
they're just gonna scroll through those options
for, like, 45 minutes before they give up
and just put on Seinfeld.
You know, if you ask me,
if you ask me, there's no reason to panic.
Right? They always... People like to panic.
"Stock market this, stock..."
But remember, this was always bound to happen.
Right? Remember, the Netflix reason,
the reason Netflix became Netflix in the first place
is because it was the only thing out there.
But now there are tons of streaming services.
People want to know, "Is this the one
that's worth my money?" You know?
Does it have the widest variety of options?
Like, what if someone's looking for the Champions League
and Picard
and 1883?
Plus Rugrats and Paw Patrol for the kids.
I mean, only Paramount+ has that full range and quality.
And, most importantly, they keep me employed,
-so that seems like a pretty good deal to me. -(applause)
Yeah.
Look, man, the point is, the point is,
the king of streaming is struggling right now,
and I really hope that they make it through.
I honestly do. I like Netflix.
Because, without Netflix,
there's no "Netflix and chill."
And that would be a disaster.
We need the pretense of watching Netflix for six minutes
before we start the sex.
Yeah. Otherwise, what are you gonna text people?
"Do you want to come over for sex?"
How would that even work?!
All right. (laughing)
Let's make like a retired dentist and move to Florida.
As you know,
America's flaccid penis recently passed
the Don't Say Gay law.
You covered your face like you've never see--
You've seen that!
You're like, "Uh, that's the first time."
You've looked at it before and you said it was flaccid.
So, they passed the Don't Say Gay law,
which puts limits on how schools can talk
about sex and gender issues,
and this has upset a lot of people,
including the folks at the Walt Disney Company.
Because so many of their creative staff are LGBTQ.
Yeah.
If you're surprised, how can you be surprised?
What did you think?
Why do you think Disney's always killing off straight parents?
They hate breeders. Think about it!
It's a conspiracy.
So, Disney denounced the bill,
and then, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis,
he denounced Disney.
And now the feud is escalating even further.
The feud between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
and Disney is growing.
Yesterday, he asked the state legislature
to repeal a 1967 law allowing Disney to operate
a private government for its properties in the state,
including Disney World.
NEWSMAN: Disney's special self-governance,
which covers 40 square miles,
allows the company to provide many of its own services,
like fire departments, road construction,
and building and zoning.
NEWSWOMAN 2: The move could leave Disney on the hook
for millions of dollars a year in local taxes
and with less autonomy over its property.
This state is governed by the interests of the people
of the state of Florida.
It is not based on the demands
of California corporate executives.
Ooh. Yes, DeSantis. So sassy.
Look at you with your one hand. Huh?
Just doing, like, a little one-hand Trump.
"We're not gonna be told what to do.
"Not at all.
Mm-mm." (grunts)
But, yeah, the governor of Florida
is using the power of the government--
listen to me now-- he's using the power of the government
to punish Disney
because they don't agree with his politics.
Yeah. And can we-- can we just admit
that most Republicans are not even Republicans anymore.
Right? Because for, like, 100 years,
their whole thing has been that there's nothing worse
than the government telling businesses what to do.
And now they're gonna use the law
to punish corporations for their opinions?
All because they think that Disney's gotten too woke?
Yeah? And Minnie's had a few abortions the past few years?
Sorry, was I-- Ah.
I-- She told me that in confidence.
I'm...
Mickey didn't know. I'm sorry, guys.
Yeah. I mean, I-I thought corporations were people.
Or, in Disney's case, rodents the size of people.
And it's especially weird
to hear these Republicans now saying,
"Corporations are getting too many special deals.
"We need to have stiffer regulations
and make them pay more taxes."
More taxes.
That's what Ron DeSantis is saying now for a corporation.
So, basically,
conservatives are so freaked out about "wokeness"
that it's turning them into liberals.
Yeah. It is.
-In fact, in fact... -(applause)
If you think about it,
if liberals... if liberals are smart,
they should start harnessing this and, like,
hyping up oil companies.
You know? Yeah.
AOC should just come out and be like,
"ExxonMobil is such a good ally.
"They support Blacks Lives Matter.
They always use people's preferred pronouns."
And then, all of a sudden, Republicans will be like,
"What?! Destroy Exxon!
"Tear them down! Cover them with solar panels!
-We got to end this wokeness!" -(applause)
Now, I will say this, I will say this,
Ron DeSantis aside, aside,
I do think it's a little weird
that Disney gets all these special perks
where it's basically its own country.
Do you understand how crazy that is?
Like, I never knew that they were allowed
to run their own government basically, you know?
The only thing I did know is that they have their own jail.
Yeah. No, I did know. And this is true.
In Disney World, if you get in trouble,
they have a little jail that they hold you in
until they sort out the issue.
Yeah, it's their own jurisdiction,
their own everything. I've actually been in there,
but it was only because
I jumped off the ride in the middle.
Like, in the Africa part of "It's a Small World,"
I thought I saw some of my friends.
It was a misunderstanding.
It could have happened to anyone.
(applause)
I like, saw the people, I was like, "Ah, Sizwe!"
And then I jumped, and it was a whole thing.
But still, man, it's pretty ballsy of DeSantis
to pick a fight with Mickey Mouse.
Mickey is one of Florida's largest employers.
And he never turns the other cheek.
Oh, boy!
Ron DeSantis claims to be a conservative,
but right now, he's acting like a liberal bitch.
He's raising taxes on a beloved Florida corporation.
Say hello to $50 turkey legs!
He's using big government to silence
our small family business.
-I guess it's a socialist world after all. -(roaring)
You didn't hear this from me,
but when Ron DeSantis went into the Haunted Mansion,
this loser straight-up shit himself. No joke!
He got so scared from a children's ride,
he made a big old dookie right in his pants. Ha, ha.
Ron DeSantis is the dumbest mother(bleep) I know,
and I'm friends with a guy named Dopey.
I'm Mickey Mouse, and I've cut a bitch.
Wow.
(cheers and applause)
Mickey does not play around.
All right, our final story is about birthdays.
You know, the day we celebrate
the last time we saw our mom's vagina.
I mean, maybe you creeps. I was a C-section baby.
Now, it may come as a surprise,
but not everyone loves celebrating their birthday,
as one company in Kentucky learned the hard way.
A judge has awarded a Kentucky man $450,000
after his former employer threw him
a surprise birthday party
that caused him to have a panic attack.
It happened in 2019.
Gravity Diagnostics threw a surprise lunch
for Kevin Berling after he told his office manager
he didn't want the company to celebrate his birthday
because he suffers from an anxiety disorder
and said that the stress would trigger a panic attack,
which is exactly what happened.
So Berling had to leave the party because of an attack,
and according to the suit, he was then criticized
by his bosses which triggered another attack.
He was fired a couple of days later.
Last month, he won his lawsuit
for disability discrimination and retaliation.
Yeah, you know what, honestly? Good for this guy.
Good for him. You know why?
I saw people online roasting him, being like,
"I can't believe he's getting paid half a million dollars
because he didn't want a birthday party."
No, he's getting paid half a million dollars
because he said, he said,
"Birthday parties give me a panic attack."
But then, the company ignored him,
threw him a surprise birthday anyway,
which gave him the panic attack.
And then instead of just apologizing,
they fired him for having a panic attack.
People, you can't fire someone for something you gave them!
Pablo Escobar, was never like,
"George, HR found cocaine in your desk, so, uh, yeah,
please hand in your ID card. Sorry."
-That's not a thing. -(applause)
And also, and also, can we talk about this for a moment?
What is so important about throwing a birthday party
that this company had to do it
even though the employee didn't want one? Right?
If you want to have a birthday party
at work so bad, just throw it.
You don't need a reason for it. Just ask Boris Johnson.
-You can do it any time you want. -(laughter)
Let me tell you something. Nobody actually wants
to celebrate their birthday at the office.
Nobody wants to. It's not fun.
What could be more special than celebrating
with my mandatory friends
and this photocopy machine?
Happy birthday, me.
(quiet, high-pitched groan)
(whispering): Kill me. Kill me now.
I don't want to go to that birthday.
Here's another thing.
Surprise birthdays, especially
are one of the more stressful things ever.
Yeah, think about it.
People just pop out of you, out of nowhere.
Right? And then they set a cake in front of you,
and they put it on fire, then you have to extinguish it.
You don't even get to pick the cake
'cause it's a surprise. What if it's carrot cake? Huh?
Yeah, first you scare the shit out of me.
Then trick me into eating a vegetable?
-Get the (bleep) out of here, man. -(applause)
Come in with your birthday-- surprise.
The bigger picture here is that people need to chill out.
I'm sick of people who tell you
how to celebrate your own birthday.
And we all know who they are. Bunch of birthday nazis.
Yeah, you're like, "Aw, I don't want to do anything this year."
(German accent): "No! We are going to do something!
"Get dressed! Let's go! We are going to celebrate
your birthday! ♪ Happy birthday, über alles. ♪"
(regular accent): That's not a party, that's a kidnapping.
Gonna celebrate my birthday force.
Stop it.
All right, that's it for the headlines.
Before we go to a break, let's check in on the stock market,
which has been on a wild ride today.
Give it up for Michael Kosta, everybody.
(cheering, applause)
-Michael... man. -Yeah. Yeah.
What on Earth is going on in the stock market today?
I mean, I am crushing it in the stock market, okay?
But before we get into Netflix,
t-that story about the, uh, birthday party. You know...
-Yeah, the surprise birthday. -Yeah, I-I understand
how that guy feels, you know?
I-I've worked many birthday parties. For a lot of summers,
I was a male stripper, and they used to, they used to
bake me into the cake. And there was this one party,
everybody got so drunk, they forgot about me.
Eventually, I had to, you know, eat my way out of it.
But I can relate to being at a party you don't want to be at.
You know? And, so, I can feel for that guy. So...
Oh, that's... not the same thing, but, I, yeah, that's...
-Yeah, well, I... -I learned a lot about you in this story.
I-I guess I should share with you that today actually
-is my birthday, so, that's... Yeah. Thanks. -Oh!
(cheers and applause)
Oh, damn. What are the chances?
All right, well, from me to you, Michael Kosta,
-♪ Happy Birthday... ♪ -Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa whoa!
I-I will sue you right now if you keep--
I'll sue all of you if you keep singing that song. Okay?
I was, I was just going to sing you the "happy birthday"...
-Yeah. And that's triggering for me, okay? -Okay. Uh...
-Let's get into this Netflix chart. -Yeah, let's talk ab...
Shall we? Okay, so, look. This is a volatile chart and
this is part reason why I didn't put my stand-up special,
about a year ago, on Netflix, and instead, I decided to
hide it deep bowels of Paramount+, which, supposedly,
is easy to find, according to their marketing department.
But, um, Trevor, you can see right here,
this is the beginning of COVID. Netflix just took off, okay?
What are you going to do, stay at home and talk to your wife?
No. Now,
I know what you're thinking. "Kosta, what's this?
You're an expert. What is this dip right here?" You know?
And I'll-- I have to be honest with you, from the beginning of
COVID to around here, I was certifiably blackout drunk,
okay? So I can't tell you what that was. I don't know.
But I do know that right here, that was, this was that TV show
about the woman who did drugs and played chess, uh,
"Queen's Gumbo" or whatever, which, which by the way, I did
I did a bunch of drugs one night and played chess, and
I'm not very good, so that show is kind of a lie. All right?
So, From around here to here, Trevor, you know
-what we call that technically in the financial world? -Uh-huh?
Bart Simpson's hairline. It's a very technical term.
You'll see a dip right here.
That was the milk crate challenge.
A lot of Americans hurt themselves, couldn't
operate their computer. What's important here, Trevor,
is how-- the incline in value. This is all Squid Game,
ladies and gentlemen. Okay? Americans love a Korean
dystopian future TV show where you have to read in subtitles.
Now, Netflix made a big mistake and they released, right here,
Tiger King 2. Nobody wants to see that shit.
They followed up by releasing around
30 serial documentaries about white male serial killers, uh,
so many that I thought, "Maybe, if I want to be on Netflix,
I'll become a serial killer." I did some night stalking,
I never racked up any kills, but got my steps in.
This? This is supply chain. All right?
You cannot enjoy Netflix if Netflix is trapped
-in a shipping container in the port of Los Angeles. -What?
This dip, obviously, Will Smith smacking Chris Rock.
And then, lastly, this final decline,
what do you expect when your best show is called
Is it Cake? So that's my financial breakdown of Netflix.
-(cheers and applause) -Wow.
Thank you, uh, so much for that, Michael.
That was, uh... that was surprisingly informative.
-Thank you very much. All right, when we come back,
Ronny Chieng celebrates not celebrating Earth Day.
You don't want to miss it.
(cheering, applause)
(cheering and applause)
Welcome back to The Daily Show.
This Friday is Earth Day,
that time of the year where we take a moment
to think about more efficient ways
to destroy the planet.
No, I'm joking, I'm joking.
It's where we think about saving the planet.
And, so, we sent Ronny Chieng into the streets of New York
to get into the Earth Day spirit.
♪ ♪
Earth Day's almost here,
the day that the world comes together
to celebrate this planet that we all share.
Unless your ideas about it are stupid,
in which case, I have to fight you on the street
in Prove Me Wrong: Earth Day Edition.
Earth doesn't deserve to be celebrated. Prove me wrong.
Maybe you're right.
Wow, that was the easiest Prove Me Wrong
I've ever had to win.
What has the Earth ever done for you?
I mean, I was born here. I got these clothes here.
Yeah, but Earth didn't do any of that.
We did that. We did this shit.
Earth is a great place.
Really? What's so... What's so great about it?
I mean, you got the animals. You got the birds.
Ugh. When's the last time you-you pet a bird?
About two years.
Okay, what-what do you mean, two years ago you pet a bird?
My friend Eric, he owns a parakeet.
We don't need to be thankful for everything.
If we're not thankful for the Earth, we'd be dead.
I'm not thankful for the Earth. I'm still alive.
Okay, then when you do die, then just...
How do I explain it?
-You-you can't explain... -You can explain it, though.
You can't explain stupidity.
(speaking foreign language)
-...uh, Earth Day. -Oh, well, in Malaysia...
(speaking foreign language)
-(woman laughing) -(speaking foreign language)
...Malaysia celebrates Earth Day.
Yeah, we celebrate Earth Day.
-Nobody knows what we just said, so... -(laughs)
Inside is better than outside. Prove me wrong.
Inside, you got, like, central air.
You're breathing other people's air.
You're breathing other people's shit.
You're breathing their piss.
-It's the same stuff. -You're breathing other people's shit
-and piss indoors? -That air that's coming through?
-Yeah. -That's from everybody's apartment.
Really? (bleep).
-Yeah. -Outside is better.
-Why? -Well, at least we can see people.
Aw, man.
That's the best part of the pandemic.
I didn't have to see anybody.
-Really? -Yeah, look at all these people now,
just walking around, making noise,
staring, taking photos without permission,
-driving around. -(laughs)
Inside is better than outside. Prove me wrong.
Why don't you prove me wrong?
No, that's not what this segment is called.
This segment is called Prove Me Wrong, okay?
You're a kid. Uh, don't you like being inside and playing,
uh, Minecraft?
Don't you want to play Minecraft?
Video games aren't my top priority.
Okay, I'll bite. What is your top priority?
Um, rock climbing is actually my favorite thing to do.
Aw, man, we got the wrong kid for this segment.
(giggling)
You're Mr. Outside.
The plants.
What about the plants?
Relax you.
Yeah, okay. Massages relax you, too.
Not like plants.
I never had a great massage from a plant.
Oh, you know what plant I'm talking about.
There's only one plant on Earth
-that makes the Earth good. -Oh.
Makes you forget all your problems.
Oh, I see.
You're talking about cocaine.
Oh, no!
There's better air.
It's fresh.
F-- Have you smelled the air around here lately?
-Uh... -We're in New York City, lady.
-Yeah. -See, inside, there's couches.
-Yeah. -There's also a fridge.
-Yeah. -Are you supposed to be on his side or my side?
Okay, I guess you do belong outside.
Well, uh, it's definitely safer outside.
There's no door frames.
How tall are you?
I'm, uh, six-ten.
Okay. Well, outside is easier for you
because I guess you're the apex predator of everything?
You know, I'm actually a vegetarian.
-Uh, what? -(chuckles): Yeah.
It's also the best way to, uh, reduce your carbon footprint,
is to, uh, eat less meat.
-Shut the (bleep) up. -(laughs)
You're in no place to talk
about carbon footprints, all right?
What's your carbon footprint?
You're, like, a size 15?
If something goes extinct, we didn't need it
in the first place. Prove me wrong.
All right. If you could eat a dodo bird,
-would you eat it? -No.
-I feel like you're not, like, exploring enough. -Wait.
So your argument against this is,
we should be eating the things that went extinct?
Yeah.
That's how they went extinct.
-So dinosaurs. If dinosaurs... -Yeah. You miss dinosaurs?
Yeah, well, if dinosaurs didn't go extinct,
um, people would be pretty broke by now because
people dig up fossils as a living
and get money from selling it to the museums.
People would be broke if they didn't do that.
What are you, an archaeologist or something?
Actually, no, I'm a kid.
If something goes extinct,
we didn't need it in the first place.
Prove me wrong.
Uh... that's a hard one.
That's really hard to argue, to be honest.
Okay, great, we're done here.
(cheers and applause)
Thank you so much for that, Ronny Chieng.
All right, when we come back, the man who took on Amazon
and won, Chris Smalls, is joining me on the show,
so don't go away.
(cheers and applause)
(cheering and applause)
Welcome back to The Daily Show. My guest tonight
is the president of the Amazon Labor Union.
He led Amazon workers at a Staten Island warehouse
to successfully form the first union
in any of the company's U.S. facilities.
We went for the jugular. And went for the top dog
because we want every other industry,
every other business
to know that things have changed.
We gon'... We gon' unionize.
We're not gonna quit our jobs anymore.
And, uh, you know, this is a prime example,
uh, of what-what...
the power that people have when they come together.
(cheering and applause)
Please welcome Chris Smalls!
-♪ ♪ -(cheering and applause)
-What's going on? -Welcome.
The man who took on Amazon and won.
Chris Smalls, welcome to The Daily Show.
Thank you. Thank you for having me.
What an insane story.
Like, I remember when this first started,
you know, the pandemic was happening.
Amazon was ramping up production.
The workers were struggling. People were complaining.
And then your story popped up as an idea,
and everyone said the same thing.
They said, "This guy's crazy. This is gonna fail.
You cannot beat Amazon." And you did.
Let's start at the beginning.
Did you think you stood a chance?
I know you did what you did,
but did you think you stood a chance?
I knew the whole time, so...
-(chuckles) -(cheering and applause)
You knew you were gonna... The reason I ask you that
is because, like, Amazon...
Like, people have tried to form unions
in some of Amazon's other warehouses.
They failed dismally.
Like, Amazon's got a really good marketing program inside.
You know what they do as an Amazon worker.
Talk me through that process. So, you were...
You were inside Amazon. You were working, right?
Um, well, I was fired two years ago
-after I led a walkout. -Mm-hmm.
But, uh, I worked for the company for almost five years.
I started in 2015 in New Jersey.
Um, so, I-I was promoted up to a supervisor level.
I was in that position for four years,
um, up until my termination.
And I did... I definitely learned the ins and out
of the warehouse and the operations.
Um, I trained thousands of their employees,
hundreds of their management
that are now upper management to this day.
So, um, for me, um, organizing was just...
I'm playing for a different team,
and, um, I'm with the people.
-I love that. -(cheering and applause)
When you...
When you thought of organizing, obviously, there was a reason.
You know, every one of us reads about Amazon from the outside.
We hear these stories. People don't get enough breaks.
Some people are peeing in bottles.
Some people are, you know,
stressed-out because they have to meet
random quotas that Amazon imposes on them.
Just the other day, for instance,
uh, I think it was on Easter,
you know, there was a sign up that said,
"If you... Thank you for working on Easter,
"and if you meet your quota, you're gonna get,
like, a bag of chips" or something.
-Yeah. Yeah. -It feels dystopian from the outside,
but how much of that is actually true?
What is it like to work in an Amazon warehouse?
It-it is true. Um, you know, as an Amazon worker,
we're disconnected from outside.
You know, we work ten to 12 hours a day.
Um, if you work in New York
and you're going to Staten Island,
um, your commute is two and a half hours,
three hours depending on what borough you live in.
I live in New Jersey,
so my commute is definitely a long commute.
And I used to tell my new hires, "If you got a gym membership,
-you might want to cancel it." -Wow.
You know? Because you're working ten to 12 hours.
You get a 30-minute lunch.
Um, you're doing calisthenics all day.
When you're in the warehouse,
what is the thing that you're fighting for the most?
Because, you know, some people hear "the fight against Amazon,"
they think about, uh, wages.
You know, they think about time off.
They think about the way people are treated
within-within the warehouse.
You know, obviously, everyone wants
a better workplace altogether.
But when you looked at the hierarchy of needs,
what was the top priority?
And then, as you came down that pyramid,
what were you looking to get?
Well, I-I noticed that Amazon
is-is ran completely-completely off of metrics, you know?
There was no human aspect to it, you know?
You get fired by email or-or a-a app.
-A to Z app that tell-- -Wait, are you serious?
Yeah. You know, um, people didn't have interaction.
They didn't know their managers. Uh...
And there was a system in place to hire and fire.
And, um, you know, it was, uh, before COVID
when I realized that there's a system
that's not only in place to fire people
but it was also discriminatory.
You know, I applied to be a manager,
a salaried manager, over 50 times in five years,
and I was only interviewed twice.
So it wasn't, uh... it wasn't fair.
It wasn't consistent with, um,
everybody in-- that worked there.
And I knew before COVID that something had to be done.
And when COVID hit, it was a life-or-death situation.
I decided to take further action.
When you-- when you look at how to start a union,
one of the hardest things is-- i-if I understand correct m--
uh, correct me if I'm wrong-- is you-you need
30% of the signatures of the workers to begin the process.
-Yeah. -One of the hardest reasons
y-you can't do that at Amazon
is because they hire and fire so quickly.
So how did you get around that obstacle
of getting people on board
and then having them be around long enough
to be part of the beginnings of a union?
Yeah. Well, education is-is key.
You know, we had to educate them on what the union provides,
um, educate... (stammers)
educate them on laws that protect them without a union.
So, certain protections we do have
that workers don't even know.
Um, so we had to make sure that we are educating the workers
to get to a point where they start organizing themselves.
And once we got to that point, we said,
"Okay, you know, we're not gonna go for..."
There's four facilities over there.
"We're not gonna go for all four.
-We're gonna break it down and go one by one by one." -Mm-hmm.
And, um, I think Amazon was caught off guard by that.
They thought that we were gonna go for all four,
-which we did try and we had to withdraw. -Mm-hmm.
But then we changed up our strategy
and started doing it one by one.
We were able to get to our threshold.
They came for you as well.
You know, I-I saw one of the emails
that circulated from--
you know, you-you never know where it comes from
but inside Amazon, where they-they came after you.
You know, they-they would disparage you
to the other workers.
One of the worst things I saw they wrote about you
is they said, um, "He's unintelligent.
"He's not well-spoken enough to-to start a union.
No one should follow this guy."
I mean, basically, they were like, "He's a rap Black man,"
essentially, is what they were saying about you.
And so they're telling people, "Don't trust him,"
and they were saying, "He can't do this."
Now, obviously, you proved them wrong.
-You know? -Yeah, well, they said it.
-They said... (laughs) -Yeah, they said-- they said...
(cheering and applause)
And I wondered, like...
'Cause...
Because you-you were a rapper
before you started working, you know, in-in warehouses,
and I wondered, did you-- did you take this as a rap beef?
Were you like, "Oh, okay, we-we're doing this"?
Was there a piece of you that was like, "All right, Amazon,
-we're doing this"? -Diss track coming.
(laughing)
No. You know what?
-I haven't rapped... (chuckles) -(cheering and applause)
I haven't rapped in so long.
I haven't rapped since, uh, you know, my college years.
But I guess it just keeps resurfacing.
-Yeah. -You know, media, they-they dig into your past
-and... -Oh, yeah. They do. Definitely.
So... (chuckles)
So, um, you know, I haven't rapped in so long.
But, um, you know, my-my mom would tell you,
you know, my voice is meant for something else.
-So, yeah, this-this is it. -I love that. -(awwing)
-I really love that. -(cheering and applause)
So then let's talk about the future.
You-You're in an interesting situation now where--
So, you are the ALU president, right?
You-You've done something that no one thought was achievable.
Um, the vice president, as I understand,
still works as-- at Amazon, which was a smart move,
because you wanted someone on the inside.
Wh-What are you looking to do now?
Because I know this is not the end.
-This is the beginning of the story. -Yeah.
-Yeah. -You know? And-and when...
when the-the union was formed,
you even, you know, sent a message out to Jeff Bezos.
It was, like, pretty direct, where you were going like,
"This is the beginning. This is only the beginning."
-Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. -And you thanked him.
That was interesting to me. You thanked him
for flying in his penis-shaped rocket.
No, I'd love to know why you think that was so significant.
Why do you think that that actually helped
with the unionizing efforts?
Well, you know, we... While he was up there, it's true.
You know, we were outside.
I was outside signing workers up.
So I was just telling the truth,
you know, um, and he needed to know that.
You know, he thought... He thanked us
when he came back. You know, we paid for that trip.
So, you know, in this case, we wanted to remind him
that you keep going in space,
we want to continue to unionize.
-I love that. Damn! -(applause and cheering)
What's... what are you trying to do going forward now?
So, you know, many people out there...
This is something I've really enjoyed
about-about watching how you work.
You've centered the union around the workers
and the workers alone.
You know, politicians will always try
and make it like the union is theirs, you know?
They'll go like, "Oh, this is the Democrats."
"This is the Republicans."
And you've gone, like, "No, no, no.
-This is the workers' union." -Yeah.
You know, because unions help all the workers.
It doesn't matter what your political affiliation is.
-You're fighting for the workers. -Right.
I'd love to know why or how you thought of doing that,
where so many would had aligned themselves with politicians.
-You've gone "No, I'm choosing not to do that." -Yeah.
No, we want to represent all people, you know?
You're a worker, whether you're left, right,
up, down, middle, red, yellow, green.
We don't care.
We want to make sure that, um, it's all inclusive.
And putting workers in the driver's seat--
that's the ultimate power.
You know, um, if you start to align with certain groups,
then Amazon uses that against you.
No. All right, this union president
from this established union,
-salary is half a million dollars. -Yes.
-With me, they can't do that. I'm unemployed. -(laughter)
So, it's different. You know, it's different.
You know, and having the workers in the driver's seat,
um, and having them at the negotiating table...
-Mm. -putting together a contract that protects them,
especially the ones that work for the company
and know the ins and outs of the company,
that's the best thing ever.
And I want to give the power back to them by this union.
And, um, that's exactly what we're trying to do.
what do you hope to achieve with the union?
So, give me some of the things that you know need
to change now in an Amazon warehouse
that all of us want. 'Cause everyone-- we use Amazon.
-Yeah. -People love the service.
But at the same time, you know, it's conflicting,
because people go, "Wait. How are they being treated?
How are the people...?" You know what I mean?
-It's a weird position for many people to be in. -Yeah.
So, what would you say to everyone going like,
"Hey, this is what needs to change in Amazon.
This is why we're trying to do this"?
Right, you know, well, customers need to know
that just 'cause you hit one-click buy, doesn't...
It's not magic. You know,
these are real people being affected, you know.
We want you all to stand in solidarity with these workers.
They come from y'all community,
-they're your neighbors. -Mm-hmm.
And we're customers, too, as workers.
And the first thing we're fighting for is job security.
Like you mentioned, they hire and fire people all the time.
Um, you know, um, there's people
that are homeless working there, and people
-in shelters working there that we help. -Wow.
We're fighting for $30 an hour, higher wages,
um, better medical leave options.
Making everybody a shareholder again,
which they stopped in 2018.
Bringing back the monthly bonuses.
Amazon workers know what I'm talking about.
VCP, which was for productivity and attendance--
we used to get that. They stopped that
in 2018, as well. Bring back hazard pay.
They think the pandemic is over.
People are still working, catching COVID,
-still being sick. -Mm-hmm.
Um, and, also, you know,
providing a better quality of life-- a pension,
free college for themselves and their children, as well.
Everything a union can provide,
we want to provide with this union.
-You're a legend, my dude. -(cheers and applause)
Thank you so much for being here. For real.
I... Man, everything you've done.
Chris Smalls, everybody.
(cheers and applause)
Thank you so much for joining me on the show.
Best of luck. We're gonna keep up with you on all of it.
All right, we're gonna take a quick break,
but we'll be right back after this.
-Yeah, man, for real. -Thank you.
(cheers and applause)
Well, that's our show for tonight.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
Until tomorrow, stay safe out there,
and remember, if you're planning someone's
surprise birthday party,
make sure to give them a heads-up first.
Now, here it is-- Your Moment of Zen.
♪ ♪
It is Wednesday, April the 20th, 20...
Oh, this is 4/20, man, right? It's 4/20.
-Right. (laughs) -Yeah, man.