'Dishonest socialist idiot': It seems AOC may have helped push a bogus narrative about Amazon employee fired after leading walkout

Sarah D | 3:01 PM on March 31, 2020

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been tweeting about recent walkouts by Amazon employees:

One of the best ways to thank essential workers is to support the fight to improve their lives.

Instacart & Amazon workers are on strike for:
– Safer working conditions
– Paid leave 4all
– Hazard pay

You can help. Skip your order today &offer to help those who rely on delivery. https://t.co/7Z3wTNB0fF

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 30, 2020

First Instacart, then Amazon, now Whole Foods: workers are withholding their labor& demanding dignity.

When people work an hourly job, it’s suggested in many ways that you‘re unimportant or expendable.

Except you aren’t. Everyone deserves safe work, paid leave, & a living wage. https://t.co/JCC7A6RiUe

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 30, 2020

Today, she shared this sad story of Staten Island Amazon worker Christian Smalls, who led a walkout and was subsequently fired:

Wow. Fired for protesting dangerous conditions? Hardly seems just, does it?

Well, it seems CPD Action, AOC, and everyone else expressing outrage over Smalls’ firing didn’t do their research first:

The guy who led the Amazon walkout admits to @ABC that he violated a quarantine order from Amazon. “Smalls told ABC News that while he was sent home on quarantine on Saturday, he has exhibited no symptoms of the virus.” https://t.co/P7ppEOcumP

— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 31, 2020

More from ABC News:

Smalls said he plans to take legal action against the company, calling his dismissal a “wrongful termination.”

But an Amazon spokesperson denied that retribution played a role in Smalls’ termination, claiming that Smalls violated safety procedures by breaking his quarantine after coming in contact with a coronavirus-infected colleague.

“Mr. Smalls received multiple warnings for violating social distancing guidelines and putting the safety of others at risk,” Amazon said in a statement on Tuesday to ABC News. “He was also found to have had close contact with a diagnosed associate with a confirmed case of COVID-19 and was asked to remain home with pay for 14-days, which is a measure we’re taking at sites around the world. Despite that instruction to stay home with pay, he came onsite on March 30, further putting the teams at risk. This is unacceptable and we have terminated his employment as a result of these multiple safety issues.”

…

Smalls told ABC News that while he was sent home on quarantine on Saturday, he has exhibited no symptoms of the virus. Federal government experts, including those at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn that many carriers of COVID-19 can be asymptomatic and not know they have the virus until tested.