- Welcome to POV.
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
Tonight, we bring you a film The New York Times calls
"astounding, rebellious, and brilliant."
It's the story of an underdog
who takes on one of the biggest companies
in history of the world
in an effort to get him and his coworkers better pay
and better working conditions.
Tonight's film is the award-winning Union .
Amazon is one of the biggest companies in the world,
and its founder and CEO is one of the richest.
In 2024 alone, the company made $638 billion in profits.
The average worker salary is about $22 an hour,
with warehouse jobs paying anywhere from $3 to $4 less.
Tonight's film chronicles the efforts
of a union and its founder
as they try to unionize their Staten Island facility
by forming the Amazon Labor Union.
The organization's catalyst is Chris Smalls,
a charismatic leader who takes on the monumental task
and shoulders the risk and responsibility
as he and his fellow workers
confront one of the most powerful companies,
a corporation that is also not shy
about discouraging Small's efforts.
One major effort included organizing a walkout
of the Staten Island hub
to protest Amazon's lack of COVID precautions,
which made national news.
Smalls was fired for the act.
Fighting for better pay and working conditions
and getting a film seen is hard enough
when your adversary is Amazon.
But another challenge filmmakers faced
was a propaganda campaign by the company
that said the filmmakers were pressuring Amazon workers
into joining the union.
The claim was dismissed that any workers were being threatened.
Union is directed by Stephen Maing and Brett Story.
In 2020, documentary producers Samantha Curley and Mars Verrone
contacted Smalls about making a film
chronicling his efforts to organize Amazon workers.
Curley and Verrone brought on director Brett Story
after seeing her film CamperForce,
a film about the people in RVs
that made up Amazon's seasonal workforce.
Story brought in Maing five months later to co-direct,
and the team was formed.
Maing and Story used cinéma vérité,
which helped them capture intimate moments
throughout the production.
Union made its world premiere at Sundance in 2024
and won a Special Grand Jury Award for The Art of Change.
You would think a film receiving such accolades
at a prestigious film festival
and getting rave reviews from critics
would be a slam dunk
when it comes to securing a distribution deal.
But when you take on a giant like Amazon, not so much.
As it turns out,
many distribution companies have cozy relationships
with the conglomerate.
But tonight, there is nothing a big company or anyone can do
to stop us from watching this award-winning, brilliant film
on the small screen.
So let's come together as a group
and celebrate our TV-watching rights.
Union starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for independent film.