Starbucks Union Drive Spotlighted in New Documentary “Baristas vs Billionaires”

The documentary Baristas vs Billionaires follows Starbucks workers in Buffalo, New York, as they organize a union campaign that began in 2021. Narrated by Susan Sarandon and produced in part by Alec Baldwin, the film is directed and written by Mark Mori, a former steelworker and United Steelworkers member. Mori says the project began after he started “interviewing baristas” and views the drive as a modern-day labor movement echoing the 1930s. The film is currently shown only at scheduled screenings, with a wider distribution deal pending.

The Guardian

The Buffalo effort emerged as the food-service sector faced heightened pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers publicly announced their organizing drive in 2021, and the campaign has become one of the most expansive union-organizing efforts in recent U.S. history. To date, more than 700 Starbucks stores have won union elections since 2021. On 25 August, Starbucks Workers United launched a boycott over the company’s failure to reach a first contract with the union.

The Guardian

The union is pressing for a $17-an-hour minimum wage, better staffing and scheduling, stronger workplace protections, and resolution of unfair-labor-practice charges. Administrative law judges and the National Labor Relations Board have found that Starbucks committed more than 500 labor-law violations, with hundreds of additional charges still pending.

The Guardian

The spokesperson added that “people love working at Starbucks,” citing low turnover and high applicant volume as evidence of employee satisfaction.

The Guardian

• “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,” — Sarandon. In, the spokesperson

The Guardian

• “We just went out and started interviewing baristas,” — Mark Mori

The Guardian

• “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,” — Mori. Photograph

The Guardian