This package includes all ten of our U.S. based documentary shorts, including "Foot Soldiers for Democracy", "Out Of Office", "The Presidents' Tailor: From Auschwitz to the White House", "Stories From the Heart of Public Education: Nicole", "En Comun: Bookloving y Organizing", "The Cooperators", "Works For All: Cincinnati's Co-op Economy", "Working Group", "Queen Of the Road", and "Relighting the Flame". You may watch in any order.

January 6th marked a brutal and violent end to the 2020 presidential election, threatening the peaceful transfer of power and shaking the very foundations of American democracy. But while the graphic images of January 6th remain seared in the minds of the American people, the insurrection isn’t the only story of the 2020 election. Faced with the logistical challenges created by a world-wide pandemic, the nation’s letter carriers became the unsung heroes of 2020. In the midst of uncertainty, they literally delivered democracy.

Foot Soldiers for Democracy

The January 6th insurrection isn't the only story of the 2020 election. Letter carriers literally delivered democracy in the form of absentee ballots during the pandemic.

Out of Office is the story of a scrappy group of office workers in Wisconsin who managed to pull off a major victory for workers’ rights. Upon their contract’s expiration, the workers activated their dormant union and fought back against their employer - a massive financial services provider making record profits. Their fight dragged out for over 600 days and included the first strike in the company’s almost 100-year history, which was the largest labor action in Wisconsin for over ten years. A rank-and-file member of the union documented the entire struggle, and the documentary includes emotional interviews with key members of the fight.

Out Of Office

A scrappy group of office workers pulls off a major victory for workers’ rights in Wisconsin.

Maxmilian Grünfeld learned to sew while mending shirts for SS soldiers in Auschwitz when he was fifteen. Four years later, he re-invented himself as the American Martin Greenfield, and was making suits for the former general and future US president Dwight D. Eisenhower, who liberated him from Buchenwald in 1945. The Presidents’ Tailor is a short documentary about how one man transformed into the other against all odds. With his infectious smile, resourcefulness, and insistence on “quality with intrinsic value”, Martin Greenfield quickly rose from his humble beginnings as a floor boy at the GGG menswear factory in Brooklyn to become the highbrow tailor of choice for US presidents and celebrities alike. Together with his sons Jay and Tod, Martin built a bespoke menswear empire which now stands alone as a beacon in the once thriving men’s tailoring industry in New York City. The Presidents’ Tailor interweaves scenes of daily life at Greenfield Clothiers with a journey into Martin’s past, when his son Jay and his children David and Amy retrace Martin’s footsteps across Europe, from his hometown Pavlovo in western Ukraine, to Auschwitz and Buchenwald, where the young Martin lost his entire family. We also travel to the White House with Martin and his wife Arlene, celebrate a Seder with family and friends, and witness moving tributes by longtime customers and dear friends Michael Bloomberg and Colin Powell at Martin’s 90th birthday spectacle. The Presidents’ Tailor is a poignant tale of resilience, forgiveness and the fine art of bespoke menswear. It is also a reminder of the distinguished craftsmanship which once gave birth to the golden age of American manufacturing.

The Presidents' Tailor: From Auschwitz to the White House

Martin Greenfield learned to sew while mending shirts for the Gestapo in Auschwitz and went on to make suits for U.S. presidents and stars. This is the story of America’s greatest tailor, and the bespoke menswear empire he left behind.

K-12 support staff are at the very heart of the public education system, and of the community at large. Yet, they are also some of the most overlooked essential workers. Nicole, a public school cafeteria employee in Minneapolis, shares about her frontline job critical to the well-being of her community, why being part of a union matters, and why she thinks that it’s time for workers across industries to unite and rise up to demand a better world.

Stories From the Heart of Public Education: Nicole

K-12 support staff are at the very heart of the public education system. Yet, they are also some of the most overlooked essential workers.

This documentary tells the story of how Mil Mundos, the first bilingual bookstore of East Bushwick, became a mutual aid hub and a safe space for their neighbors during the early days of the pandemic, changing the course of its operations. We follow the day-to-day activities of this Bushwick coop and its members' relationships to the space that informs the core of their community-making. <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/7720cbe99e3cdb31e9fe8c61b25d8ded.png" width="210">

English

En Común: Bookloving y Organizing

Mil Mundos is a bilingual, co-op bookstore in Bushwick that has fostered a larger sense of community in the area.

In 1962, the ILGWU (International Ladies Garment Workers Union) threw open the doors to Penn South, the affordable housing cooperative in the middle of New York City. The Cooperators is based on oral history interviews with the first residents of the coop. Their voices weave a story of the vision, struggle and community that have kept Penn South a beacon of affordable housing and the bold possibilities of social unionism.

The Cooperators

An oral history of Penn South, the affordable housing cooperative in the middle of New York City.

Since 2011, Cincinnati has been home to Co-op Cincy, a unique network of activists and unionized cooperatives that are building "an economy that works for all." This film visits several of the diverse worker owned cooperatives in the network, many led by people traditionally marginalized in the U.S. economy, and shows Co-op Cincy's remarkable work to transform and provide training and support for these businesses. Particularly significant for the future is the effort to help convert existing businesses where owners are retiring into cooperatives.

Works For All: Cincinnati's Co-op Economy

Cincinnati is home to Co-op Cincy, a unique network of activists and unionized cooperatives that are building an economy that works for all.

A dedicated group of university students attempt to connect with custodial workers on campus and find ways to help them in this vérité style documentary.

Working Group

A dedicated group of university students attempt to connect with custodial workers on campus and find ways to help them.

A glimpse into the life of an independent female truck driver, Milica Virag. From Milica, age 58, we learn about the difficulties and triumphs of a driver – how she got started, her problems with brokers, scheduling hassles, loads that fall through, break-downs, unscheduled stops at the mercy of Walmart, and personal relationships. Many times, Milica has thought about quitting the profession but the freedom of the job and the beauty of travel keep her going.

Queen Of the Road

A glimpse into the life of an independent female truck driver, Milica Virag.

Relighting the Flame tells the story of how a new generation of workers are defying enormous odds to rebuild and grow America's steel industry, right in the Industrial Heartland.

Relighting the Flame

A new generation of workers are defying enormous odds to rebuild and grow America's steel industry.

All U.S. Doc Shorts

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Tickets are now disabled for all films, as the Virtual Festival has since concluded. Trailers can still be played, however.  Check our website later in November for the announcement of Season 13 Winners and submission opening dates for 2025. Questions? melanie@workersuniteff.org

The Workers Unite Film Festival is a celebration of global labor solidarity, bringing together activists, academics, and filmmakers all over the world who aim to publicize the struggles, successes, and daily lives of workers. We are non-profit, based out of NYC, and in our 13th season.

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