UNION Screening and Q&A

Through intimate cinema vérité, UNION chronicles the extraordinary efforts of an unlikely group of warehouse workers as they launch a grassroots union campaign at an Amazon fulfillment center in Staten Island, New York. Led by the charismatic but underestimated Chris Smalls, the diverse band of workers start the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) and embark on a journey against one of the largest and most powerful companies in the world. The odds are stacked against them, as the group finds itself up against a tech industry giant with unlimited resources, without major support from national unions or politicians, and while navigating internal divisions within their own ranks. Filmmakers Brett Story and Stephen Maing document the struggle from day one, offering a gripping human drama about the fight for power and dignity in today’s globalized economic landscape.

Winner: U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award, Sundance
Official Selection: NYFF

We will be joined for a Q&A after the film by labor organizer Natalie Monarrez, UNION producer Mars Verrone, and Labor Arts Director Rachel Bernstein.

Natalie Monarrez was a seven year employee for Amazon in New Jersey and New York. She joined the Amazon Labor Union in April 2021, and continued acting as an unofficial Shop Steward for JFK8 workers in Staten Island, until her recent termination. She enjoyed helping co-workers defend themselves and will continue to use her voice for workers' rights, women's rights, and anyone who is being exploited or abused. Power to the people.

Mars Verrone is a filmmaker, musician, and educator from Los Angeles, CA, currently based in Brooklyn, NY. As a first-time producer, Mars produced feature documentary UNION, (dir. Stephen Maing, Brett Story) which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Documentary Competition and won a special jury prize for “The Art of Change.” In 2022, Mars directed and produced award-winning short documentary GOLDEN VOICE, which continues to be programmed at LGBTQ+ festivals and events across the globe. Mars is a Sundance Documentary Producers Fellow, NBC Original Voices Artist Mentor and Fellow, PGA Create Fellow, Brown Girls Doc Mafia Sustainable Artist Fellow, Dear Producer Mentee, and was selected for DOC NYC’S 2024 “40 Under 40” cohort. Their work has been supported by Sundance Institute, Ford Foundation, Field of Vision, and the International Documentary Association, among others.

Rachel Bernstein directs LaborArts and is a public historian who researches, writes about and teaches American working class history, with a particular focus on New York City. She taught in the graduate program in public history at NYU for decades, and works on public history projects with the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at NYU and elsewhere. She is author, with the late Debra E. Bernhardt, of​ (NYU Press, 2000, 2020), and with Bernhardt, Evie Rich, Esther Cohen, Donald Rubin and the late Henry Foner, co-founded LaborArts in 2000.

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