The Congress of Essential Workers is an American labour organization co-founded by Chris Smalls in 2020.

The Congress of Essential Workers was launched as the COVID19 pandemic reached the United States, on May 1 2020.

[1][2] The founders were all current or recent Amazon employees Chris Smalls, Gerald Bryson, Jordan Flowers and Derrick Palmer.

[1] The organisation was created to advocate for essential workers, with special focus on those who were the subject of employer retaliatory actions and those who needed funds to pursue civil rights complaints.

[5] The work that the Congress of Essential Workers started, led to the development of the Amazon Labor Union.