Union Town documentary exposes US delivery

Barbara Kopple's new documentary, 'Union Town,' is a passionate exposé of the employment conditions facing app-based delivery workers in the United States. The film focuses on workers, known as 'deliveristas,' who ferry packages for companies like Amazon and DoorDash but are classified as third-party contractors.

This classification means the workers bear all the risks. If they are injured on the job, they must cover their own hospital bills and repair their vehicles. According to the film, they can also be fired while recovering from an injury. Kopple's documentary serves as the third chapter in her informal trilogy auditing workers' rights in America, following 1976's 'Harlan County, USA' and 1990's 'American Dream.'

The fight to unionize Amazon

The film spotlights a major campaign by the Teamsters union to organize Amazon's fragmented workforce. This effort culminated in a crippling six-day strike during the 2024 Christmas period. A news anchor criticized the action, telling Teamster president Sean O'Brien, 'You're killing Santa.' The documentary compiles a list of harsh working conditions, featuring warehouse employees packing boxes in 105-degree Fahrenheit (40.5-degree Celsius) heat and delivery drivers who report sleeping in their cars while earning as little as $7 an hour.

Voices from the shadow economy

Kopple uses a fly-on-the-wall approach to give names and faces to these often invisible workers, including exhausted migrant laborers who live under the constant threat of deportation by ICE. The corporate bosses largely remain off-camera. The sole executive voice featured is UPS CEO Carol Tomé, who appeared on a business show to enthuse about replacing workers with robots. 'Robots would be better,' she said, citing greater efficiency and 'No attitude.'

A divided and Sisyphean struggle

While 'Union Town' celebrates moments of solidarity-with one Teamster declaring, 'Jeff Bezos is Darth Vader, and we're the rebel army'-it presents the overall struggle as daunting. The film suggests the labor movement is fractured, with 60% of Teamster members reportedly supporting Donald Trump and Amazon drivers envying the better conditions of UPS drivers. The documentary ends on a bleak, cold note outside Amazon headquarters, where union organizer Chris Williamson maintains a solitary, freezing picket line in the slush, desperately calling for backup after everyone else has gone home.