Quote of the Day

U.S. labor unions in America have been very complicit, if not participated, in this genocide. For the last 21 months, U.S. labor unions have been shipping arms to Israel every 15 hours. I’ve publicly called them out. The longshoremen have blood on their hands, and the AFL-CIO has blood on their hands, as well. They have passed zero resolutions since October 7, and half a million Palestinians are dead because of this. And as a U.S. labor leader and a U.S. taxpaying citizen [I am aware that] the Palestinian movement of liberation and resistance has always included trade unions, since the first Nakba.

From my journeys around the world and meeting with different trade unions, especially in the Middle East, I’ve met plenty of Palestinian trade union presidents, and I understand that [speaking out against Israel’s genocide in Gaza] is not outside the scope of labor. This is a working-class issue. And as a labor leader [I say that] it is our responsibility to be the shield of the working class. An injury to one is an injury to all, and that doesn’t exclude Palestinians.

– Chris Smalls
Excerpted from “Labor Leader Chris Smalls
Describes Israeli Arrest and Assault
After Military Raids Gaza Flotilla”
Democracy Now!
August 5, 2025

Related Off-site Links:
Chris Smalls Is Coming Home; Will This Shake the U.S. Labor Movement Into Action on Gaza? – Mike Elk (Common Dreams, July 31, 2025).
Detainment of Chris Smalls: White Supremacy at the Core of Zionism – The Black Alliance for Peace (Popular Resistance, July 31, 2025).
Chris Smalls Beaten in IDF Custody; Teamsters President Silent – Due Dissidence (July 30, 2025).
U.S. Gaza Freedom Flotilla Members Say No Consular Support Given After Abduction by Israeli Forces – Brett Wilkins (Common Dreams, July 30, 2025).
Where’s the Outrage Over Labor Leader Chris Smalls’ Violent Arrest by the IDF? – Mike Elk (Common Dreams, July 29, 2025).

UPDATES: “I Rubbed Them the Wrong Way”: An Interview with Chris Smalls – Sabrina Salvati (Sabby Sabs, August 8, 2025).
Chris Smalls Exposes Bernie Sanders and AOC’s Shocking Gaza Hypocrisy – Kit Cabello (Hard Lens Media, August 16, 2025).
Chris Smalls on Bridging the Gaps Between Union Labor and Palestinian Activism – The Joy Reid Show (August 17, 2025).

See also the following Wild Reed post:
• U.S. Labor Leader Chris Smalls Joins the Crew of the Handala
• Jonah Walters: Quote of the Day – September 5, 2016
• At the Minnesota Capitol, a Show of Solidarity for Workers’ Rights in Wisconsin and Beyond (2011)
• Across America, “the Giant is Awake”
• General Strike for Peace (2007)