Starbucks workers in Buffalo, New York, who launched a union-organizing campaign in 2021, are the focus of a new documentary film, Baristas vs Billionaires. The film recounts their experiences with billionaire Howard Schultz, who descended on the city to attempt to quell the unionization efforts.
Documentary details the union drive
The film is narrated by actor Susan Sarandon, with Alec Baldwin serving as a contributing producer. It was directed and written by Mark Mori, who received an Academy Award nomination in 1991 for the documentary Building Bombs and won an Emmy for a 2001 documentary on the Kent State shootings.
Sarandon said: “Even though the Starbucks workers’ fight for a living wage was so public, I had no idea of the twists and turns and heartbreak connected to their struggle.”
Director's personal connection
Mori told the Guardian that his background as a steelworker and union member with the United Steelworkers, as well as his political activism, informed his decision to take on the project. He began reading about the union drive and spoke with a friend who would shoot the film for him.
“We just went out and started interviewing baristas,” Mori said. “To me, I looked at it as the beginning of a long upsurge in the labor movement. I looked at this as we were in the 1930s, the 21st-century version of that.”
Mori sees the union drive as a counter to the decline of manufacturing in the US midwest that has decimated the working class. “I call it the revenge of the Rust belt. Many of these kids are the children or grandchildren of the steelworkers from Bethlehem Steel in Buffalo, the grain silos in Buffalo, all of these factories across the Rust belt that were shut down. Their parents and grandparents lost their pensions, lost their homes, and these kids don’t see any future,” he said.
Inspiration and ongoing tensions
Mori compared the Starbucks workers to Vietnam war activists of the 1960s and 70s, noting their bravery and articulation. He added: “These young kids are so inspirational, and they’re showing one way to deal with what’s going on, and there are many other ways. But the real number one thing about this is these young people taking matters into their own hands and inspiring other people to stand up against these billionaires.”
The film is currently only available via scheduled screenings, though a distribution deal is in the works. It comes as tensions between Starbucks and the union continue to escalate. Starbucks Workers United launched a boycott on 25 August against the company over its failure to reach a first contract with the union. More than 700 Starbucks stores have won union elections since 2021.
The union is pushing for a $17-an-hour minimum wage, improved staffing and scheduling, and workplace protections, and for Starbucks to resolve unfair labor practice charges. Administrative law judges and the National Labor Relations Board found Starbucks committed more than 500 labor law violations, and hundreds of unfair labor practice charges at the agency are still unresolved.
A spokesperson for Starbucks did not directly comment on the movie or the boycott. “Starbucks has competitive pay, industry-leading benefits, and meaningful opportunities to grow a career,” the spokesperson said in an email. “People love working at Starbucks which is why we have the lowest turnover in the industry and why more than 1 million people every year apply to wear the green apron. As we have always been, we’re committed to engaging in productive bargaining.”
