Click here for a synopsis of Bread and Roses

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Bread and Roses is the story of three characters and their families. The story begins with Maya being snuck across the US-Mexico border by a group of "coyotes", or migrant smugglers. Maya is taken into care by her older sister Rosa, who obtains Maya a job in Los Angeles as a janitor at the same non-union building which she works at. Soon, Maya meets Sam Shapiro, a coordinator for Justice for Janitors. Sam encourages Maya and the rest of the janitors in her building to protest against their poor wages and work conditions. The supervisor of the building uses scare tactics and fear to attempt to control his employees, but through Maya and Sam's wit, the movement for unionization and justice moves forward. However, in a pivotal moment, Rosa sells out Maya, Sam and the movement. While at first these seems entirely selfish, the true complexity of labor politics is revealed through Rosa's motives. The conclusion of the movie finds Maya and Sam marching along with hundreds of other laborers in Los Angeles proclaiming their battle cry "We want bread, but ROSES too!"

This movie is interesting in many regards