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Stephen Maing and Brett Story | USA | 2024
Documentary filmmakers Stephen Maing and Brett Story capture the Amazon Labor Union’s (ALU) historic grassroots campaign to unionize thousands of their co-workers from day one of organizing in UNION. The highly unconventional strategies the group used to reach out to fellow co-workers is creative, successful, a remarkable model, and truly one-of-a-kind: from wearing Money Heist costumes at press conferences, to distributing free marijuana to workers, to chill-out barbecues.
Christian Smalls, ALU President, along with a small community of past and present Amazon workers in Staten Island, New York, systematically worked hard to fight for the betterment in the workplace, and to educate anyone who will listen, as to the stakes for any employee within a corporate superpower.
Maing and Story note, “On April 1, 2022, a group of ordinary workers made history when they did what everyone thought was impossible: they successfully won their election to become the very first union in the Amazon workplace of America.” Adding, “The feat would be extraordinary for any union, but the ALU did it with no prior organizing experience, no institutional backing, and a total budget of $120,000 raised on GoFundMe.” It’s the most important win for labor since the 1930s.
In Maing and Story’s unique historical account they share, “A core emotional arc arises through a series of political battles, pivotal strategic events, and interpersonal tensions that test their commitments and their solidarity.” Many have heard the basic narrative of the ALU through the local and national media, but only the insiders are aware of the enormous personal sacrifice given for the whole.
The wins and losses laid out in UNION exemplify the hope that whistleblowers, leakers, and citizen reporters can be a thriving force as a collective community.
Maing recalls, “I will never forget the day the organizers of the ALU won their first election—the feeling was electric, joyful, and a complete relief.” Adding, “Likewise, I will never forget the utter devastation when they lost their next.” Continuing, “Seeing many of them learn to organize for the very first time, discover their talents and capacity, and witness their impassioned determination during such a challenging and consequential time fills me with gratitude.” Maing and Story hope, “What resonates in us is the restlessness, determination and potential for change in the collective efforts of these workers and their historic achievement.”