Amazon called the cops on a union organizer who was bringing food to warehouse workers. The NYPD arrested him and 2 Amazon workers.

Former Amazon worker and union organizer Chris Smalls.

Valentina Goncharova

• The NYPD arrested three Amazon union organizers at a Staten Island warehouse on Wednesday.
• One organizer, ex-Amazon worker Chris Smalls, had come to the warehouse break room to give out food.
• An Amazon spokesperson said Smalls has "repeatedly trespassed."

The New York Police Department arrested three union organizers at Amazon's JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island on Wednesday.

Among those arrested was Chris Smalls, a former worker and president of the Amazon Labor Union. The ALU successfully petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for a union election at JFK8 last week. The election is due to be held between March 25 and March 30.

Smalls told Reuters he had come to the warehouse to give out food to workers in the break room.

Derrick Palmer, an ALU organizer and employee who witnessed the arrests, told Vice an Amazon general manager said they were calling the police after organizers brought grilled chicken and pasta to workers in the break room.

"I think it started off as a scare tactic that completely went off the rails," Connor Spence, another ALU organizer and employee, told Bloomberg.

An Amazon spokesperson told Reuters and Bloomberg Amazon had called the police because Smalls has "repeatedly trespassed" on JFK8.

"Smalls — who is not employed by Amazon — has repeatedly trespassed despite multiple warnings. Today, when police officers asked Mr. Smalls to leave, he instead chose to escalate the situation and the police made their own decision on how to respond," spokesperson Kelly Nantel told Bloomberg.

Nantel told Bloomberg the company "did not call the police on employees."

"Upon arrival, officers were met with an employee of the location who stated that there was an unauthorized 33-year-old male at the location that refused to leave. Officers on the scene also attempted to ask the individual to leave multiple times. All attempts were refused and the individual was taken into custody," the NYPD told Insider in a statement.

"Upon the initial arrest, two other individuals unlawfully interfered and were also taken into custody without further incident," the NYPD added. It identified the individuals as Amazon workers Brett Daniels and Jason Anthony.

The NYPD told Insider Smalls was charged with trespassing, resisting arrest, and obstructing governmental administration.

Daniels and Anthony were charged with obstructing governmental administration, the NYPD told Insider.

Smalls was released later on Wednesday, tweeting at 9:28 p.m. Eastern time: "I'm free ‼️ and I'm not stopping unionize @amazon."

Smalls told Reuters shortly after 10 p.m. he was heading back to the warehouse. 

"I'm going to bring more food for the night shift," he said.

Amazon was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Insider.

Insider previously reported Smalls and Daniels were approached by police in November and told to take down a tent they had set up near the warehouse. Daniels was cuffed and held in a cell for almost two hours.

Amazon is also facing a union election at a warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. The Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) filed three unfair labor practice charges against Amazon on Tuesday saying it has been interfering in the election.

The Bessemer election is a re-run of an election held in March and April last year. Workers voted against forming a union, but the NLRB ordered it be re-held after finding Amazon illegally interfered.

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