Program 3: 'The Empty Chair' - Inside the Fight to Unionize Starbucks - Q&A

THE EMPTY CHAIR - In the face of America’s increasingly powerful corporate class, young Starbucks employees have set in motion a unionization campaign that has swept the nation. This underdog story follows the queer and trans workers behind the union as they navigate victories and defeats and, in the process, breathe life into the labor movement.

The title of the film comes from a chair that is set aside in every Starbucks board meeting to "represent" all the retail workers at the company. The chair is left empty and when workers ask for an actual seat at the table, they are denied. Starbucks' respect for the voices of workers is surface deep and purely symbolic. (1 hr 26m, 2023, Director: Jay Goldstuck) + Director Q&A

Short to precede:

OUT OF OFFICE is the story of a scrappy group of office workers in Wisconsin who managed to pull off a major victory for workers’ rights. Upon their contract’s expiration, the workers activated their dormant union and fought back against their employer - a massive financial services provider making record profits. Their fight dragged out for over 600 days and included the first strike in the company’s almost 100-year history, which was the largest labor action in Wisconsin for over ten years. A rank-and-file member of the union documented the entire struggle, and the documentary includes emotional interviews with key members of the fight. (30m, 2024, Director: Will Roberts) + Director Q&A

Host or Publisher Workers Unite Film Festival, Inc.