Distinguished labor organizer and international activist Chris Smalls stopped in Delaware on June 3, 2026 as part of a national tour promoting his new book When The Revolution Comes: A Fight For The Future of the Working Class. Speaking to dozens of grateful and starstruck readers in the Huxley and Hiro Bookstore in downtown Wilmington, Smalls reflected on his own hardships as an organizer, amplified similar hardships faced by Amazon workers in Delaware, and shared advice with local community organizers during the event.
Smalls first rose to prominence in 2020 when he organized a walkout at his Amazon warehouse against the company’s poor pandemic protections in 2020. In Wilmington, Smalls reflected on how the Amazon Labor Union he eventually co-founded started from scratch; and reported that the company spent millions of dollars to try and stop the “mostly black and brown” workers from organizing while ALU only spent $100,000.
“Amazon is the #1 company for retail AND injuries,” Smalls said during the Huxley and Hiro event. After being fired two hours post-walkout — and targeted in subsequent media coverage by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for his “whistleblowing” — he used the attention around his activism to become the face of union organizing for Amazon employees. He stated he felt “a responsibility to speak up” for his fellow essential employees as they “knew the company better than Jeff Bezos.”
According to Smalls, unionizing Amazon workers “wasn’t even a thought” initially, but he and his co-organizers decided to “embrace the moment.” It was difficult garnering support from traditional unions at first, and he and his co-organizers felt looked down upon.
“Labor unions have to understand we’re in a different century,” the author explained to the moderator. Smalls spoke of how he felt modern traditional unions “are not meeting the workers where they are at,” and attributed his efforts’ successes to face-to-face interactions. He also pointed out the lack of diversity in most establishment unions’ leaderships.
When Smalls interacted with the audience, he received appreciative compliments from employees of nearby Amazon locations. The Amazon warehouse in New Castle was one of the first opened by the company. One former employee of that Amazon Fulfillment Center recalled the anti-union push from its opening in the 90s to the room, sharing that Bezos himself brought in “millionaires with blue mohawks from Seattle” to discourage the workers from unionizing.
The labor organizer also generously shared his experience and advice with eager and young community organizers. Nithi Chrisostam, a recent graduate and student organizer, asked how Smalls envisioned a multicultural working-class movement building in modern-day America. Smalls implored her and her peers to “think outside of the box” and “build international solidarity,” emphasizing the early support the Amazon Labor Union received from unions in France and his more recent work supporting the people of Palestine and Cuba. Corey Gordon Jr., another young community organizer in attendance, told the Call he felt the event was “inspiring.”
Smalls seemed disappointed that he ran out of time before he could respond to every question or comment from the enthusiastic and engaged audience. As the bookstore owner stepped in to help Smalls wrap up, the author pointed out that activism and organizing was a lifelong struggle. In closing, he called on attendees to ask themselves: “If I don’t get up and do the work, who is going to do it?”