115m; Sweden
Director: Bo Widerberg
Synopsis: Drama revolving around 1931 Swedish sawmill workers’ strike.
Category Archives: Strikes-Strikebreaking-Lockouts
All That I Love (2009)
95m; Poland
Director: Jacek Borcuch
Synopsis: Set in 1981, just as Poland’s Solidarity movement was about to become an active force for social and political change, writer-director Jacek Borcuch’s film blends elements of an American ’80s teen sex comedy, a Romeo and Juliet-style romance and raucous punk rock into a thoroughly winning story. In an industrial port town on the Baltic coast, Jacek (Mateusz Kosciukiewicz), the teenaged son of a navy captain, and his friends court controversy by forming a punk rock band. Jacek begins a tentative romance with schoolmate Basia (Olga Fryz), whose father is a union leader. As events come to a head, and the young lovers find their families in opposition, Jacek and his band, backed by the town’s youth, take a stand for freedom.
Aliquippa: The Union Comes to “Little Siberia.”
30m; U.S.
Synopsis: This half-hour documentary, part of the PBS “Great Depression” program series, tells the dramatic story of the struggle at J&L Steel that led to the famous Supreme Court decision to uphold the constitutionality of the Wagner Act. After the win at Aliquippa extended the union beyond U.S. Steel surrendering without a shot in secret negotiations between John L. Lewis and Myron Taylor, the steelworkers’ union hit up against Tom Girdler’s extreme resistance. The Memorial Day massacre of 1937, just weeks after the victory at Aliquippa, kept the unions inside “Little Steel” without a contract until 1941.
American Dream (1990)
98m; U.S.
Director: Barbara Kopple
Synopsis (IMDB): Chronicles the six-month strike at Hormel in Austin, Minnesota, in 1985-86. The local union, P-9 of the Food and Commercial Workers, overwhelmingly rejects a contract offer with a $2/hour wage cut. They strike and hire a New York consultant to manage a national media campaign against Hormel. Despite support from P-9’s rank and file, FCWU’s international disagrees with the strategy. In addition to union-company tension, there’s union-union in-fighting. Hormel holds firm; scabs, replacement workers, brothers on opposite sides, a union coup d’état, and a new contract materialize. The film asks, was it worth it, or was the strike a long-term disaster for organized labor? Won the Oscar in 1990 for Best Documentary.
American Standoff (2002)
95m; U.S.
Director: Mira Nair and Kristi Jacobson
Synopsis: The Teamster’s Union goes on strike against Overnite Transportation, a nationwide freight company that has resisted unionization. The union, however, faces its own internecine battles as factions inside the organization, one led by James P. Hoffa vie for power. Produced by Barbara Kopple.
And Women Must Weep (1962)
26m; U.S.
Director: National Right to Work Committee
Synopsis: Anti-union film dramatizing a wildcat strike staged by the IAM in Princeton, Indiana in 1956-57.
The Angry Silence (1960)
95m; U.K.
Director: Guy Green
Synopsis: Scab workers in England. No one will talk to the protagnist who is anti-labor and will not walk out with the rest.
Barravento (1962)
78m; Brazil
Director: Glauber Rocha
Synopsis: Relation between strike and proleterian life on the Brazilian coast. Depiction of striking fishermen, “black magic rituals,” and emotional relationships.
Battle of Chile (1978)
Director: Patricio Guzmán
Synopsis: Three-part documentary series about Salvador Allende’s government, the September 11, 1973 coup which overthrew it, and resistance by workers there after.
The Battle of Local 5668 (2007)
53m; U.S.
Director: Shawn Bennett
Synopsis: Story of the ultimately successful 1990 Steelworker’s strike against Ravenswood; Shawn Bennett grew up in Parkersburg, studying film at Pittsburgh Filmmakers and studying under Julia Reichert (“Union Maids.”) His father Joe worked at The Ravenswood Aluminum plant for years, and was part of the famous lock-out that took place for almost two years starting in 1990. Using historic footage, TV news broadcasts, and interviews with people who took part in one of the most important labor struggles in recent American history, he presents a compelling story of global capitalism vs. devoted workers. The United Steelworkers and fellow union members traveled around the country and world, protesting the inhumanity of the corporate leaders in a model campaign for justice. Marc Rich, an international criminal pardoned by President Clinton during his last day in office, was the man at the top.
Contact: http://www.battleoflocal5668.com/ shawn@shawnbennett.net 310-729-9080 (Cell)
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