Follows a new generation of Starbucks workers organizing for dignity, respect, and a voice in their workplaces. Directed by Mark Mori, the film centers on a small group of baristas in Buffalo, New York, who defy a billionaire CEO’s aggressive anti-union tactics and spark a wave of unionization across the United States.

When one store in Buffalo votes to unionize, Starbucks responds with mass firings, store closures, and legal challenges — a scorched-earth campaign aimed at suffocating the movement. As the pressure mounts, the film captures how baristas organize across stores and cities, drawing on the mentorship of veteran labor organizers and legal advocates to push back against one of the world’s most powerful corporations.

More than a labor story, Baristas vs. Billionaires situates this fight within a broader struggle over wealth concentration, corporate accountability, and worker power in a new era of inequality. It highlights the emotional stakes of organizing under surveillance and intimidation — the exhaustion, fear, and solidarity of young workers who refuse to back down.

The documentary also reveals how this organizing has spread nationwide, inspiring over 600 unionized Starbucks stores and more than 12,000 workers joining the effort. It connects their struggle to the larger resurgence of labor activism across the U.S. — from warehouse workers to fast-food and retail employees — who are fighting to transform precarious, low-wage work into a dignified, sustainable livelihood.

With its clarity and immediacy, Baristas vs. Billionaires is a testament to grassroots power — showing how courage, coordination, and community can challenge even billion-dollar corporations.