Union Town: A Documentary About Delivery Workers Fighting for Their Rights

A new documentary called Union Town takes a close look at the lives of delivery workers in the United States. The film was shown at the Venice Film Festival and was directed by Barbara Kopple. It follows workers who deliver packages for companies like Amazon and DoorDash — and the serious challenges they face every day. Many of these workers are undocumented immigrants, meaning they are not in the U.S. legally, and they have very few protections on the job.

Kopple is well known for making films about workers' rights. Union Town is the third film in a series she started in 1976 with Harlan County, USA, about a coal miners' strike in Kentucky. Her second film, American Dream, came out in 1990 and covered a meatpacking plant in Minnesota. Now, nearly 35 years later, she turns her camera on a new kind of worker — one who delivers packages on a bicycle or in a van, often without benefits or job security.

The workers in the film are sometimes called 'deliveristas.' They work for big companies like Amazon, but they are listed as independent contractors instead of full employees. This means the companies are not required to pay for their health care or cover them if they get hurt on the job. If a deliverista gets injured while working, they have to pay their own hospital bills. They can also be fired while they are still recovering from an injury.

A big part of the film focuses on the Teamsters, a large workers' union that tried to organize Amazon employees. The effort led to a six-day strike during the 2024 Christmas season, one of the busiest times of year for deliveries. The film also shares stories from warehouse workers who pack boxes in extreme heat, drivers who sleep in their cars, and migrant workers who fear being arrested by immigration agents. Kopple's style of filmmaking lets viewers see these workers as real people — with names, faces, and voices.

The film also shows some of the powerful figures on the other side. The only company leader we hear from is Carol Tomé, the CEO of UPS. She appears on a TV business show and talks about using robots in warehouses, saying they are more efficient and have 'No attitude.' The bosses of other companies, like Amazon, do not appear in the film at all.

Union Town tries to show the strength that can come from workers standing together. It references stories of underdogs beating the odds, with one union member comparing Amazon to the villain Darth Vader from Star Wars. But the film also shows how hard this fight really is. The union is divided — 60% of Teamster members voted to support Donald Trump, even though his policies often go against workers' interests. At the end, one union organizer named Chris Williamson is shown standing alone outside Amazon's headquarters late at night, in the cold and slush of New York City, calling for help that never comes.