Written by Nevin Allen. Photo courtesy of SCAD Savannah Film Festival.
A row of geese are crossing the street. A man steps out, arms spread, and halts the flow of traffic for them. Moments later, at that same intersection, an Amazon-branded semi-truck hulks its way around the corner and disappears. These poignantly juxtaposed visuals are placed in the first few minutes of Brett Story and Stephen Maing’s latest documentary, titled simply “Union.” The union in question? The Amazon Labor Union. The film catalogs the highs and lows of the ALU’s founding members as they raise support and eventually file with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
The documentary begins with Chris Smalls, the current ALU president, in the union’s early days. In his words, the situation is that “Amazon is on its high horse, and we want to punch them in the face.” Facing what many consider unfair working conditions, discriminatory hiring and firing practices, dwindling benefits and subpar pay, the ALU’s early members emerge one at a time to tell their stories. When they do, the film does not frame them as heroes. It frames them as exactly what they are: human beings fighting for better lives.
The narrative is informed throughout by transitional title cards that provide important context, but most of the captured events take place in or around the JFK8 fulfillment center in Staten Island. The building is both the birthplace of the ALU and the looming presence that haunts the protagonists, its glowing “Amazon” sign growing more sinister with each obstacle the ALU faces. Amazon fights the ALU in many ways, including but not limited to anti-union propaganda. Several captive audience meetings and other on-site union-busting practices punctuate the film, each more shocking than the last.
Filmmaker Stephen Maing was present at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival screening on Oct. 30 and gave a Q&A after the film. Maing spoke passionately about the ALU’s continued struggle as they expand to more Amazon facilities, emphasizing that despite the film being finished there is still more work to be done. “What you see in the film is maybe 5% of what we witnessed,” the filmmaker said when questioned about the ALU in-fighting present in the final cut. He maintained that this conflict was an integral part of the film despite obstructing organizing because it grounds the story and humanizes those involved.
Maing also spoke briefly about the film’s distribution conundrum. Union is currently self-distributed by the filmmakers, in part because major film distributor Amazon fervently opposes its existence, which made seeing this documentary that much more impactful.
