Featuring
Brett Story & Stephen Maing · 2024 · 1h44m
An inside look at Amazon workers’ efforts to unionize JFK8 Warehouse in Staten Island, despite the company’s ongoing attempts to stop the growing labor movement.
Tuesday, Feb. 04, 6:30pm
Union
This film documents workers making history by becoming the first unionized Amazon workplace in the United States. Their victory stands as extraordinary for any union, let alone the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), which succeeded with no prior organizing experience, institutional backing or substantial budget. These leaders, including the charismatic Chris Smalls, embraced their group’s unique persona and highly unconventional strategies, like wearing Money Heist costumes at press conferences or distributing free marijuana to workers, and did not back down in the face of near-impossible hurdles, including a dire lack of resources, interpersonal tensions, and the ruthless tactics of a corporate giant.
This film will be followed by a discussion with Mostafa Henaway, a community organizer for the Immigrant Workers Center here in Montreal; Mostafa is a long-time activist, radio producer and writer, who has written extensively about his experiences working undercover at the Amazon warehouse in Laval.
