This is a gritty David and Goliath story set in a blue collar world against a corporate America backdrop. The dynamic has a ‘what comes next’ energy that plays games with its audience. One minute it’s opening their eyes; the next they feel like Peeping Toms. The stakes are high and it feels like a journey that’s too big to end. It’s a compelling ride.
Amazon Union Drive
Chris Smalls worked at the Amazon Warehouse in Staten Island until he was unfairly fired. The injustice felt by Smalls was so profound, he was motivated to launch a drive to unionize the entire Amazon workforce.
He enlisted the support of a handful of past and present Amazon employees who were all as committed as him. But inevitably, on a project of this magnitude, the road ahead is fraught with conflicts that arise both from without and within.
The beginning of this film is quite shocking. It’s hard to believe that, in 21st Century America, a lone man is taking on the richest company in the world. But this is what happens. Smalls has no resources and he and his colleagues are all broke. One of them, an Amazon employee, is homeless. The image of her huddled in her car is juxtaposed with the lift-off of Jeff Bazos’ rocket on his $28M spaceflight. Obscene wealth has never looked more unseemly.
High Staff Turnover
Amazon’s US staff turnover is high. Long hours, short breaks, lack of safety and oppressive surveillance are the norm. Yet on the other side of the Atlantic, the retail giant has been named Top 2024 Employer by the European Employer Institute.
It has been highly praised for its “commitment to the development and well being of its employees.” So the only country in the western world that allows Amazon to abuse its employees is America. People are universal so, in this case, it’s only the law that differentiates and a case of capitalism trouncing socialism.
Unions in America have been in decline since the Reagan era so this film will send chills down corporate America’s spine. Companies of all sizes have been stomping on workers’ rights for so long, the ground has scarred over.
And even though this film gives breath to the possibility of change, who’s going to give breath to the film? Not Amazon Prime, for sure, and probably not any of the other streamers who are equally entrenched in capitalism.
So if you have trouble finding this film online, maybe do what Chris Smalls did. Let your friends know what’s going on and kick down a few doors.
Directed by Brett Story and Stephen Maing
Release date October18, 2024 (limited)
Release updates https://www.unionthefilm.com/
Watch the trailer HERE
*In the United States in 2023, despite an uptick in worker stoppages, boycotts and strikes, union density was 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, which is about 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.