By Jeffrey Dastin

(Reuters) – Christian Smalls was a hard worker in establishing Amazon (NASDAQ)’s first American union.

She was 33 years old and had previously worked for Walmart (NYSE:). Target (NYSE: Home Depot (NYSE:). An early rapper, he stopped performing to support his twin children. He then took up a job in a warehouse at Amazon in New Jersey. Later, he moved to New York.

Smalls was only able to find a rare calling after the COVID-19 epidemic. He united workers in a company that had for many decades resisted unionization, and also rewrote a labor policy.

Workers at JFK8, the Staten Island retailer’s warehouse in Staten Island, were alarmed by the spread of the virus. They believed that Amazon wasn’t addressing this threat. He joined a protest demanding that workers be protected and the closure of their worksite. The man showed up, despite having been placed on paid quarantine by a COVID contact. Amazon fired him and he became a celebrity.

The New York Attorney General began investigating his firing that day, prompting months of litigation between the state’s attorney and the retailer.

David Zapolsky was Amazon’s general attorney. He called Smalls “not smart or articulate” and recommended that Amazon “make him the face for the entire union/organizing community.”

This is what actually happened.

Smalls claimed that the attack by the general counsel was motivated to fight harder during a interview Thursday. Smalls won an unexpected victory when JFK8 workers voted to unify on Friday.

It’s the organization we have,” he stated, and it was also how he spent his day with workers every day, no matter what.

Following his dismissal, he traveled across the nation to seek out essential workers. He called for an Amazon Prime Day boycott and even built a Christmas tree made of Amazon boxes in front of founder Jeff Bezos. Smalls was accused of not accounting for money that he had fundraised by people who claimed to be his associates. Smalls refuted the allegation and claimed he had no idea of the accused.

Consternation was elicited by union officials who were his closest allies when he stated that his effort was worker-led and free from the baggage of other groups. Smalls claimed that he was not bitter about traditional unions.

When Smalls announced his plans to unionize JFK8, many doubted him. But he put up a tent in front of the warehouse while those who supported the union spoke out about how they could get higher wages and safer working conditions. GoFundMe helped his team raise money. Over the months, he donated food to JFK8 in order for the group, now known as Amazon Labor Union (ALU), to share literature during break-room meals.

He even got arrested. Amazon claimed that he had been repeatedly trespassing in spite of warnings. Smalls however, framed it as Amazon trying to intimidate employees. Amazon claimed that the police had made their own decision on how to react.

John Logan from San Francisco State University is a labor professor who said that ALU members had decided it was now time to discard the organization manual. Smalls’ instincts were right, even though the group was forced to withdraw its petition to vote and then re-file it to ensure that there were signatures from at least 30% of the staff.

Logan stated that they filed with 30% of the participants, and had no experience organizers and lawyers. However, Logan noted that their campaign was chaotic and unprofessional. Logan also said that there were great media outlets and social media. Logan said that almost everything they did goes against the ‘conventional organizer” wisdom.

After finally winning plaudits in organized labor, Smalls now wants to bring unions to the second Amazon warehouse on Staten Island. In a vote this month, he stated that it “will be easy” in comparison. Also, he has another goal for JFK8.

“We’re going to try to deliver a contract. He stated that this was the first priority. “The real fight is the contract; that’s what we’re going to focus on next.”