JUSTICE MATTERS

Baristas vs Billionaires

MARK MORI
USA, 2025
79 minutes, Color
Official website

In Person: Producer/Director Mark Mori and Producer Bob Judson, with guest moderator Chris Garlock, Executive Director, Labor Heritage Foundation

Buffalo, New York, is a union town first, a coffee town second. In 2021, when local Starbucks baristas had had enough of low wages, insufficient health insurance, and other workplace inequities, the call was "No contract, no coffee." The fight for the right to unionize Starbucks has now spread nationally to some 600 stores, led not by union bosses but by brave working-class Millennials and Gen Zs risking (and sometimes losing) their only livelihoods. Through their voices, this compelling documentary by Oscar®-nominee and Emmy-winner Mark Mori, narrated by Susan Sarandon, vividly conveys the personal side of what has become a generational struggle. CEO Howard Schultz, long the corporate face of Starbucks, comes out with egg (or perhaps foam) on his face but billions to spare. The struggle continues, but knowing that these young organizers are the labor movement's future is something to smile about over your morning joe.—Judy Bloch

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