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union

A FILM BY STEPHEN MAING AND BRETT STORY

Up against one of the most powerful companies on the planet, a group of Amazon workers embark on an unprecedented campaign to unionize their warehouse in Staten Island, New York.

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“Astounding, rebellious… brilliant.”

The New York Times

SYNOPSIS

Through intimate cinema vérité, UNION chronicles the extraordinary efforts of an unlikely group of warehouse workers as they launch a grassroots union campaign at an Amazon fulfillment center in Staten Island, New York. Led by the charismatic but underestimated Chris Smalls, the diverse band of workers start the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) and embark on a journey against one of the largest and most powerful companies in the world. The odds are stacked against them, as the group finds itself up against a tech industry giant with unlimited resources, without major support from national unions or politicians, and while navigating internal divisions within their own ranks. Filmmakers Brett Story and Stephen Maing document the struggle from day one, offering a gripping human drama about the fight for power and dignity in today's globalized economic landscape.

Creative Team

Stephen Maing

(
Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor
)

Brett Story

(
Director, Producer
)

Mars Verrone

(
Producer, p.g.a.
)

Samantha Curley

(
Producer, p.g.a.
)

Martin DiCicco

(
Cinematographer, Producer
)

Blair McClendon

(
Editor
)

Malika Zouhali-Worrall

(
Editor
)

Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe

(
Composer
)

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

Executive Producers
Jenny Raskin
Lauren Haber
Geralyn White Dreyfous
The Villa Family
David Levine
Jessica Grimshaw
Nick Shumaker
Dawn Olmstead
Adam McKay
Todd Schulman
Co-Executive Producers
Kelsey Koenig
Barbara & Eric Dobkin
Paula Froehle & Steve Cohen
Natasha & David Dolby
Meryl Metni
Pierre Hauser
Peter Palandjian
Chelsea Halligan
Ryan Parker
Alexander Carpenter
Andrew Neel

Press

VARIETY

Guy Lodge

"Richly observed."

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Film Comment

Devika Girish

“Rooted in a stirring recognition that sometimes we must strive for a better world even if we don’t have a perfect alternative in place.”

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The New York Times

Alissa Wilkinson

"It is hard to capture, on film, the often exhausting work of organizing workplace labor... but UNION does it."

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Deadline

Matthew Carey

"One of the key documentaries of the year."

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THE RINGER

Adam Nayman

"The best documentaries are the ones that question and challenge power, and UNION punches up in sync with its subjects."

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IN REVIEW ONLINE

Michael Sicinski

"Celebrates a glimmer of hope in an era of all-encompassing darkness."

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LOS ANGELES TIMES

Jen Yamato

"A powerful reminder of what’s at stake when companies reduce workers to numbers on a balance sheet."

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THE PLAYLIST

Warren Cantrell

"A raw examination of labor organization at its most powerful, pure, and fragile."

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Indiewire

David Ehrlich

“Tough and gripping.”

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The Film Stage

Edward Frumkin

“A key addition to the canon of workers’ cinema.”

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The Hollywood Reporter

Daniel Fienberg

“A nuanced portrait of the challenges of leadership and a revealing celebration of the values of persistence, solidarity and free weed.”

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RogerEbert.com

Isaac Feldberg

"Captures both the pain and the power of people at the base of a global infrastructure."

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VULTURE

Alison Willmore

"Undeniably political in its focus while being artful and observational in its approach... Simmers like a present-day techno-thriller."

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THE NEW YORKER

Doreen St. Félix

"A document of solidarity, in which the scandal of the gig-economy model registers on a human scale."

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MASHABLE

Chase DiBenedetto

"A story of complicated people power."

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IndieWire

Ben Travers & Anne Thompson

"An indelible portrait of the modern American labor struggle."

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VULTURE

Alison Willmore

"Stylistically haunting, politically urgent, and guided by its subjects’ journeys rather than a predetermined structure."

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THE GUARDIAN

Heather Stewart

"From the rousing leader dismissed for leading a walkout to the activists handing out free burgers, pizza and weed, an inspiring new documentary charts the long, hard fight to create the delivery giant’s first union."

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The Nation

Ella Fanger

"Grapples with what it means to tell an underdog story without a satisfying ending."

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Rolling Stone

David Fear

"As much a portrait of a struggle as it is a win."

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Take Action

With 1.5 million employees globally, Amazon is actively setting the standard for a future of work defined by automation, surveillance, lack of safety, and employee turnover rates as high as 150%. In the United States, despite an uptick in worker stoppages, boycotts and strikes last year, union density is at an all-time low. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that just 10% of hourly and salaried workers were members of unions, or around 14.4 million people. More recently, Amazon joined Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Trader Joe’s in a legal fight to declare the National Labor Relations Board as unconstitutional.

Amazon is aggressively setting the anti-union standard for the future of labor in the United States and globally.

Worker organizing at Amazon is critical for redefining our economic and political futures – this single corporation controls much of the Internet’s infrastructure, it dictates terms of online retail globally, it sells cloud services to militaries around the globe, and has hollowed out the mainstreets of towns and cities across the country. Warehouse workers are joined by tech workers, activists, and the public to challenge these corporate bosses and force change.

Inspired by the ALU’s “for the people by the people” union campaign, we’re distributing UNION ourselves and couldn’t be more excited to bring it directly to audiences nationwide. This is where you come in. We need your help to bring UNION to the people. We see this as an invaluable opportunity to show support for the labor movement. If you’d like to partner with us on the release of UNION, please contact team@unionthefilm.com.

UNION is proud to partner with a number of organizations working at the frontlines of the global labor movement.

Learn more about their efforts HERE: