The collectivization of Amazon workers in the the spring of 2022 at their Staten Island plant was regarded as a milestone in US labor history. It marked the first instance of this corporate retailer being unionized in the entire American region.
The notable thing is that “ALU” managed to gather votes of consensual support from workers at the JFK8 warehouse for forming a labor union, seeing this as a huge victory for the movement in the era of globalization. This example is a true testament that engagement at the grassroots level can still work even in the face of concentrated corporate power, employment discrimination, and other means to kill the fight for worker rights. To make things even more optimistic, there was no pre-existing union to take the lead on organizing the workers at one of the largest US employment goliaths, as this sheer lack of representation made their triumph in the matter even more impressive. Admittedly voting in favor of the union came with the cost of opening Pandora’s box, as this referendum was bound to instigate a legal standoff with Amazon. Furthermore, failing to recognize and have negotiations with ALU after the matter was initiated only added to the case.
Now when it comes to narrating the events behind the making of the ALU, the new documentary styled “Union,” co-directed by Brett Story and Stephen Maing, works on telling in a minute detail and not miss a single story on the anti-competitive nature of practices of the still powerful amazon company. In the modern world, where enterprises as powerful as Amazon exist, it becomes extremely important to follow workers’ grassroots movements.
Having done the rounds at several film festivals and winning awards, the film is about the traumatic experiences of Amazon employees who have undergone Badger program training. This documentary is unlike most as there are not a lot of interviews and lacks headshots, instead, it contains what seems like real-time footage or looks like a secondary source. Apart from this, the editing also plays a critical role which includes the lack of talking heads and voice overs.
Story, the director, along with Maing, was able to create a documentary that helps show Americans the human side of things by having actually been around it for three years and infusing their own original footage. In addition, they included a single interview that adds to the story rather than takes away from it.
Moreover, there remains a risk of retaliation for workers who organize and these threats remain constant in the organization. Amazon has even taken a more radical stance by pouring hundreds of millions into union-busting campaigns that include a mandatory ‘captive audience’ meeting. This tactic has been banned in New York. They even go to the length of issuing warnings of termination to workers who participate in union drives.
In the backdrop of the film, there are large cargo ships transporting goods which act as a reminder of how capitalism works in silos and at a slow speed. Story and Maing’s film outlines the different obstacles that the union faced and puts the issues into perspective where the union’s success is challenged. Amazingly, the footage depicts the workers being put in dialogue and showing how this can significantly aid in overcoming those challenges. One of the most fascinating segments in the film is where the inside of the AWS headquarters is covertly captivated. In these so-called ‘captive audience meetings’, the anti-propaganda tactics are harsh but the pretense is disrupted when the ALU organizers get the victory. They push back the Amazon managers just long enough to make their point to the workers. After this, the ALU organizers gain control of the narrative.
Chris Smalls, an organizer, has the spotlight in the Union, a part of the documentary that portrays the different facets of organizing and definitely avoids painting him as an unsought hero.
It would be a perfect trap considering that he turned into the public face of the “Union” organization. Smalls, who was laid off from Amazon for holding a strike due to insufficient supplies of PPE during the pandemic, is not very “smart or articulate”, according to the general counsel of the company. Smalls, who has three kids, became distressed because of the horrible labor practices of the company and turned into an activist for the unfairness of it all. He is multi-dimensional in the sense that he is exceedingly charming as much as he is intensely determined to push the agenda forward in spite of opposition to unionism.
Organizers on the same side of a collective movement have their individual tensions, which is something that this film manages to capture very well. Consider the striking difference between the two subjects: Maddie, who is a white college graduate, and Natalie, an older Latina woman who has been living out of her car for years. In one heated interaction, Natalie begins to challenge the idea put forth by the white male organizers that Chris is purposely getting arrested by the New York police to call attention to the unionization efforts. In the end, Natalie’s frustration with the ALU regarding her personal views on leadership and her wish to have broader union support resulted in her resignation from the organization. This illustrates purposeful individual impertinence and lack of blanket triumph in this struggle.
“Union” captures the internal fighting and conflicts around governance, organizing, and leadership that led to a division within the ALU prior to the successful vote for unionization, which were further intensified by the unsuccessful attempt to organize a second warehouse. Although Smalls had the personality, passion, and determination that helped America’s need airports fight to organize and unionize JFK8, the film demonstrates that this achievement was not his alone. He is rarely highlighted alone for his achievements, as his style of leadership created division within the ALU that potentially made the union weaker and ineffective over time.
After the unionization vote, there is a glimpse of Smalls’ leadership where it became evident that there was still more work to be done. In the latter half of the film, the ALU organizers become the central point of focus. Yet, they still seem heroic in the eyes of the audience. With victory for the worker’s right still fresh, there is plenty of work to be done regarding the rights being challenged by Amazon. With so much left to fight for, “Union” ends on a rather dreary note of determination instead of victory.
It does not shy away from showing both the suffering and the strength of people affected by the global system. Story and Maing do not move away from the frontline of the struggle against the exploitation of the workers so that we can see what their battle is really like.
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