“Union”

No matter if you’re pro or anti-union, the bland documentary “Union” is a bust. Co-directors Stephen Maing and Brett Story’s observational style offers zero insight into the ongoing fight between Amazon and their workers who are attempting to unionize in New York City. It’s a story of commendable determination, but it is not a good documentary.

Using hidden camera footage, the film captures some very shady union-busting tactics that are in play from Amazon. This is the most compelling and interesting portion of the documentary, but it goes on too long. There’s enough solid material for a short at best, and the messaging would’ve been so much stronger with a tightened runtime. Why the co-directors tend to hold so much information close to their chests, which is detrimental to the finished documentary, makes no sense.

At least the film shows firsthand what it’s like to attempt to fight for workers’ rights and what a difficult undertaking it is to organize labor in this country, especially when going up against the seemingly never-ending deep pockets of big corporations. To that end, “Union” is a film that’s preaching to the collective choir.

By: Louisa Moore