New York, New York - Amazon Labor Union (ALU) president Chris Smalls on Friday led a protest outside the annual DealBook Summit, where Amazon CEO Andy Jassy was scheduled to speak.

The DealBook Summit, the prestigious event presented by The New York Times, was held at the Jazz at Lincoln Center building in Manhattan on a rainy Wednesday.

But this year, it wasn't all about big names from business, tech, and politics. Smalls led a coalition of workers, activists, and supporters in a protest right outside the entrance, in an effort to get the Amazon boss to hear their demands.

"Andy Jassy, come on out baby!" Smalls shouted into a megaphone, staring up at the colossal building. "We got some contract negotiating to do!"

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"And today, is just the beginning," he added.

While the weather remained gloomy, the group stayed energetic, holding a picket line as they shouted chants like "Union busting is disgusting" and "This is what democracy looks like."

Throughout the morning, Smalls reminded them of their purpose and why their action was important.

"At the end of the day, we are all just workers," he said at one point. "We don't have much, but what we do have is people power. And when we don't come together, the other side is winning."

The ALU, which Smalls founded in 2021 after being fired from a Staten Island warehouse for organizing a walkout, has been pushing Amazon to negotiate deals with their newly unionized workers, which Smalls argues will "improve every [worker's] quality of life."

The group's efforts have played a big part in a growing movement of people across the world demanding better work and pay conditions from their employers.

This global dimension was at the forefront of Smalls' mind when he pointed out that, aside from Jassy, other DealBook invitees included Mark Zuckerberg, Mike Pence, Benjamin Netanyahu, and even Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "Someone on that list has affected your life," he pointed out.

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Although Smalls represented the ALU, the protest itself drew supporters coming from different walks of life.

Eliza, a Boston native who has been in the city for six years, is a legal worker for a company that doesn't have a union.

"I participate in a lot of actions, honestly," she told TAG24 NEWS. "I know Christopher from his organization of the first labor union in Staten Island, in Amazon's history. I follow everything he does. So I saw his post about who was here today. That's what brought me here, just the greed and wealth."

As for Smalls, he left protesters with a powerful message: "Remind your bosses, your employers, your universities, your politicians, who has the power, because when we fight, we win every damn time."