How Starbucks Workers Started a Labor Revolution
Start: Saturday, January 24, 2026•01:00 PM
Location: Berkshire Athenaeum• 1 Wendell Ave, Pittsfield, MA 01201 US
Join the Western MA Area Labor Federation, and Working Films for a screening of Partners, a film that shares the story of how a group of baristas in Buffalo, New York announce their intention to form a labor union, and how Starbucks responds with an elaborate and illegal anti-union campaign. Featuring on-the-ground footage from workers and organizers, Partners takes us to the front lines of the historic union campaign that catalyzed America’s Gen Z labor revival.
In 2020, a group of “Inside Organizers” in Buffalo, New York get jobs at Starbucks with the intention of starting a union. Baristas across Buffalo quickly join the cause. Starbucks catches on and immediately storms the market with over 100 specially-trained corporate executives and managers from across the country. An elaborate anti-union campaign ensues, which the federal government later finds to be the most illegal attack on organizing workers rights in modern United States history. Drawing from on-the-ground footage captured by workers and organizers, Partners takes us to the front lines of the labor campaign that inspired over 11,000 Starbucks workers across the country to organize.
A discussion & Q&A will follow the films.
Join us for this free screening and discussion to explore a historic union fight and what it teaches us about organizing for workers’ rights today, from coffee shops to classrooms to warehouses.
Co-sponsors: Berkshires DSA
***Register through Action Network to receive further information about this event.