Biden warns Amazon while rallying Big Labor: ‘Here we come’

President Biden on Wednesday issued a warning to Amazon days after workers at one of its New York City sites voted to be represented by a union, a first in the nation for one of the tech giant’s facilities.

“And by the way, Amazon, here we come,” Biden said at the North America’s Building Trades Unions legislative conference in Washington following remarks about giving workers the choice to join a union. 

“Watch! Watch!” he added to applause erupting in the room.

Biden highlighted the creation of a White House task force on worker organization and empowerment “to make sure the choice to join a union belongs to workers alone.”

After calling out Amazon, Biden said: “Well, it’s why I called on Congress to finally pass the PRO Act and send it to my desk.”

The PRO Act would stiffen penalties for employers who violate workers’ rights and strengthen protections for employees against retaliation. It is considered a top legislative priority of labor unions, but the effort has hit a roadblock in Washington. 

While the measure passed in the House last year, it has stalled in the Senate and was dropped from Biden’s initial Build Back Better agenda. 

After voting to be represented by a union, workers at a Staten Island Amazon facility can now move toward collective bargaining for a contract for the first time at one of the company’s U.S. facilities.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday said Biden was not sending a message through these comments that he or the government would be “directly involved” or take “direct action” in unionization efforts.

“What he was conveying is his longtime support for collective bargaining, for the rights of workers to organize, and their decision to do exactly that in this case,” she said when asked if Biden was endorsing efforts of workers to unionize. “Something that he has long supported broadly over the course of his career.”

Shortly after the vote, reports emerged that Amazon would eye a program that would flag internal messages among employees that included certain words, some of which have to do with organized labor, such as “pay raise,” “compensation” and “union.”

Biden on Wednesday argued the significance of unions to the trade group during its conference at the Washington Hilton.

“[It’s] about making sure that here in America, folks who work hard and live their lives, they have an opportunity to live it with dignity and respect, that’s what unions are about, mind you, about providing dignity and respect for people who bust their neck,” he said.

Updated: 3:39 p.m.