The film raises the stakes for Starbucks as stalled contract negotiations collide with a public boycott and a string of legal rulings. Baristas Vs Billionaires, written and directed by Mark Mori, follows the 2021 union drive that began in Buffalo, New York, and captures the campaign that organisers describe as one of the largest private-sector organising efforts in recent US memory. Susan Sarandon narrates and Alec Baldwin is listed as a contributing producer.
Mori frames the effort as rooted in the Rust Belt’s economic decline, calling it "the revenge of the Rust belt," and he links his decision to document the fight to his own past. A former steelworker and member of the United Steelworkers, he said he and a friend simply began "interviewing baristas" as events unfolded. He praised the organisers, saying, "These young kids are so inspirational," and compared their energy to activist movements of his generation.
Sarandon said she had not understood the "twists and turns and heartbreak" behind the workers’ push for better pay and conditions. The film is on the festival and scheduled-screening circuit while a wider distribution deal is under negotiation, which could widen its reach beyond local and labour-focused audiences.
The release meets a tense moment. Starbucks Workers United launched a boycott on 25 August after the company failed to secure a first contract, and more than 700 Starbucks stores have won union elections since 2021. The union is pressing for a $17-an-hour minimum, changes to staffing and scheduling, workplace protections, and settlements of unfair labour practice charges. Administrative law judges and the National Labor Relations Board have found that Starbucks committed more than 500 labour law violations, and hundreds of charges remain unresolved.
A Starbucks spokesperson declined to comment on the film or the boycott directly but said the company offers "competitive pay, industry-leading benefits, and meaningful opportunities to grow a career," and added that more than 1 million people apply each year to work at the company. With unresolved charges, legal rulings and a coordinated boycott already in motion, the documentary arrives as another factor that could reshape public opinion and the bargaining landscape as negotiations and litigation continue.
