Stephen Maing and Brett Story’s documentary Union is one of the best American films about the labor movement since 1940’s The Grapes of Wrath. Using cinéma vérité “you-are-there” film techniques, Union chronicles the fight to organize the JFK8 Amazon fulfillment center in Staten Island, New York. Union, a Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Award winner, focuses on fired Amazon worker Chris Smalls, who co-led a movement of working-class heroes taking on the trillion-dollar company owned by Jeff Bezos, often called the world’s wealthiest person.

Another grassroots organizer highlighted in Union is Connor Spence, who was elected Amazon Labor Union’s (ALU) second president in August. With its “fly-on-the-wall” style, Maing and Story’s film follows the proletarian campaign that made the New York warehouse the first — and only — unionized Amazon facility in the U.S. Adam McKay, who co-wrote/directed the 2015 anti-Wall Street film The Big Short, executive produced Union. The theatrical release of the 100-minute documentary began on October 18.

In this candid conversation, Union co-director Steve Maing and ALU organizer Chris Smalls discuss Amazon, unionization, socialism and whether film can change the world. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Ed Rampell: What’s your current ALU status?

Chris Smalls: I’m the founder, still active in some capacity. I have lots more on my plate because I’m able to travel and do the things I’m doing internationally, as well. I created the union because it’s worker-led. I would pass the torch; as somebody who doesn’t work at the plant, I don’t want to make it seem like I’m trying to be in a position of power, longevity. It was more about building a foundation for Amazon workers to have a choice to join the union or not. That’s my role right now, continuing to spread that message. Unions in this country are at an all-time low, as far as union density. To reverse that, we have to get to other spaces.

When ALU was co-founded by Smalls in April 2021, it was an independent union specifically for Amazon workers. In June 2024, ALU affiliated with the Teamsters, giving the newly chartered ALU-International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 1 access to the financial and organizational resources of the Teamsters International Union, the Teamsters Amazon Division and Teamsters Joint Council 16 in New York. Could you talk more about why you affiliated with the Teamsters.

Smalls: I signed that agreement. They have the resources to help the union, legally, financially. They’re the closest union in the field of logistics, in trucking, compared to Amazon workers. That will be an easier transition for Amazon workers to relate. I’ve met with [Teamsters President] Sean O’Brien over the years and developed a relationship with the Teamsters. We had a summit over the summer, we went to Washington, D.C., met with the Teamsters’ general counsel, including the president. When we left that meeting, we decided we wanted to negotiate an affiliation.

Has Amazon negotiated a contract yet with ALU?

Smalls: No. Amazon refuses to recognize ALU until this day. Amazon still doesn’t believe the union won the election. So, they’ve been holding us up in federal court for the last two-and-a-half years. We don’t even have a bargaining order to negotiate.

How did Amazon respond to the unionization drive?

Smalls:........

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