Upstate Films hosts a timely screening of Partners: How Baristas Started a Union at Starbucks, a documentary that traces one of the most surprising labor uprisings of the past decade. The film follows the young workers who challenged one of the world’s most recognizable brands, revealing how a small group of baristas in Buffalo ignited a nationwide organizing wave. Through on-the-ground footage and candid interviews, Partners captures the mix of fear, determination, corporate pushback, and solidarity that defined their campaign—and shows how a seemingly modest workplace effort grew into a broader conversation about dignity, wages, and power in the service economy.
For audiences in the Hudson Valley—home to its own labor resurgence across farms, cafes, arts organizations, and health care—the film lands with particular resonance. Expect not just a documentary, but a lively window into the mechanics of modern organizing and the workers reshaping it.
