82m; U.S.
Director: John Fiege
Synopsis: Questions of race, workers’ rights and exploitation form the crux of this intriguing documentary about Latin American immigrants living in rural Mississippi, where poultry plants promise jobs but little else.
Contact: http://www.mississippichicken.com/contact.asp
124m; U.S.
Director: Martin Ritt
Cast: Sean Connery, Richard Harris and Samantha Eggar
Synopsis (IMDB): Life is rough in the coal mines of 1876 Pennsylvania. A secret group of Irish emigrant miners, known as the Molly Maguires, fights against the cruelty of the mining company with sabotage and murder. A detective, also an Irish emigrant, is hired to infiltrate the group and report on its members. But on which side do his sympathies lie?
29m; U.S.
Director: Arthur Young
Synopsis: Davitt McAteer is one of America’s leading experts on coal mine safety. In 1984, he founded the Occupational Safety and Health Law Center (OSHLC), a public interest law firm based in Shepherdstown that engages in education, training and policy analysis of issues involving workplace safety and health. While director of this Center, he produced this film. In 1993, he was named assistant secretary for the Mine Safety and Health Administration in the U.S. Department of Labor under President Clinton. This film tells the story of the struggle for mine safety in the U.S., focusing on the tragedy of Monongah, WV, in which 362 miners died. In December 2007, WVU Press released his book on the subject, “Monongah: The Tragic Story of the 1907 Mine Disaster.”
Contact: Debbie Roberts, droberts@mcateer-assoc.com
30m; U.S.
Director: Peter Argentine
Synopsis: About the greatest loss of life as the result of a coal mine disaster in American history, the December 6, 1907 the Monongah Mine Disaster
Contact: www.argentineproductions.com http://www.monongahmovie.com/
105m; U.K.
Director: Ken Loach
Cast: Peter Mullan, Louise Goodall and Gary Lewis
Synopsis: Two thirtysomethings, unemployed former alcoholic Joe and community health worker Sarah, start a romantic relationship in the one of the toughest Glasgow neighbourhoods.
57m; U.S.
Director: Hector Galan
Synopsis (IMDB): A sequel to Edward R. Murrow’s famous Harvest of Shame documentary, showing the deplorable conditions of migrant farm workers in 1960, found little has changed in 30 years.
18m; Canada
Director: Edie Steiner
Synopsis: Filmmaker’s quest to bring social justice to her family, in light of her father’s death from occupational illness.
Contact: espix@sympatico.ca 416 260-2734 (Home)
24m; U.K.
Available on Vimeo
Film about the death of Simon Jones and the campaign that grew out if it. The film looks at the events surrounding Simon’s death, the formation of the memorial campaign, the campaign’s actions, including the occupation of the Department of Trade and Industry during George Galloway’s parliamentary debate on Simon’s death and the closure of Southwark Bridge outside the Health and Safety Executive and interviews with Simon’s family, friends and supporters.
The Simon Jones Memorial Campaign was set up after casual dock worker Simon Jones was decapitated in an industrial accident on April 24, 1998. He was working for Euromin on the south coast of England. The campaign argued that failure to train Simon for a dangerous job was tantamount to murder and that the pursuit of profit was put ahead of life. Simon died on his first day at work and was known to have no experience.
The campaign, supported by anti-casualisation campaigners from the trade unions, initially took its fight to Euromin and the employment agency who offered him the work, Personnel Selection. It has been characterised by direct action: six months after Simon’s death there was an occupation of his workplace and frequent pickets of the employment agency have taken place. When theHealth and Safety Executive refused to take up the issue, protestors blockaded the road for three hours. The incident was taken up by Members of Parliament and a minister acknowledged that the government plans for protecting workers were “not enough”.
The Crown Prosecution Service decision to not prosecute Euromin was overturned on March 23, 2000 by a judicial review, the first time a judicial review has ever insisted on prosecuting corporate manslaughter. Euromin were ultimately fined £50,000 for breach of safety regulations. The manager was acquitted of manslaughter by a majority decision of the jury.
The anti-casualisation element of the campaign persists with the slogan “casualisation kills”, the purple stickers can be seen around various casual employers or agencies. The campaigners do workshops on their methods and support others who have been affected by deaths in the workplace.
7m; U.K.
Synopsis: Directed and produced by Mat Haywood and Lihee Avidan for Channel 4TV Two of four stories about migrant health care workers in England, the films show a brief look at how migrant workers contribute to the labour force in the NHS and the connection between working abroad and the life they have left behind. Produced with the assistance of Public Services International.
Synopsis: List of films that relate to occupational hazards: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/blog/nsb092310_movies.html
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