POV: Union

By Jennifer Robinson / Web Producer

Published June 20, 2025 at 3:18 PM PDT

L-R: Connor Spence, Jordan Flowers, Chris Smalls, Gerald Bryson, Derrick Palmer at the press conference outside the NLRB Brooklyn Office following ALU’s union election victory.

Premieres Monday, June 23, 2025 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV / PBS app

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.

UNION | Official Trailer | POV on PBS

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.

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L-R: Tristan "Lion" Dutchin, Jordan flowers, Tristan Martinez, Brett Daniels, Madeline Wesley, Julian Mitchell-Israel at Times Square Labor Day Rally (2022)

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.

Natalie Monarrez, a light skinned woman in a red short sleeved t-shirt with white lettering that reads "ALU," a black face mask and yellow bandana tied around her head stands in the middle of a street on yellow painted traffic lines. She holds a sign in each hand. One sign reads in handwritten lettering "HONK 4 UNIONS !" and the other features an illustraion of three people in safety vests holding "UNIONIZE NOW" signs. She is flanked by traffic and green trees and bushes. An Amazon sign is shown on the right.

Film makers 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.

Watch On Your Schedule: POV "Union" will be available to stream until Aug. 31, 2025 at pbs.org, and the PBS app. Watch the best of PBS anytime, anywhere on the free PBS app. Stream your favorite PBS shows on-demand and livestream shows from your local station, all from your favorite device.

Martin DiCicco

POV

Chris Smalls, a Black man stands in profile against a white and blue background of a blurred Amazon logo. His right arm is raised and he holds up a white paper above his head. He wears a black cap, gold chains and black short sleeved t-shirt with white lettering that reads "Boycott Amazon" with further text below it, cut off my the camera frame.

Credits: A film from Level Ground Productions. In Association with Impact Partners. Produced by Samantha Curley, Mars Verrone, Stephen Maing, Brett Story, and Martin DiCicco. Music is by Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe. The executive producers: Jenny Raskin, Lauren Haber, Geralyn White Dreyfous, The Villa Family, David Levine, Jessica Grimshaw, Nick Shumaker, Dawn Olmstead, Adam McKay, Todd Schulman, Erika Dilday, and Chris White for American Documentary.

NOTE: In response to a request for comment, an Amazon spokesperson stated Chris Smalls was fired for violating Amazon’s COVID-19 protocols. They denied racial and gender inequity in pay and promotions. They denied surveilling union activity. They denied targeting ALU organizers or supporters for discipline or firing. The following statement was issued: “Our employees have the choice of whether or not to join a union. They always have. Our focus remains on working directly with our team to continue making Amazon a great place to work.”