Transportation | THE LABOR FILM DATABASE

Signal Seven (1986)

92m; U.S.

Director: Rob Nilsson

Cast: Bill Ackridge, Dan Leegant and John Tidwell

Synopsis (New York Times): The title refers to a radio distress call for a taxi driver in trouble and the movie is about people in various states of distress and the subtle signals for help they send out. It’s also about pride, loneliness, friendship, ambition, failure, fear and hope, as seen through the daily lives of a group of middle-aged cab drivers. The film follows two of them, Marty and Speed, played with depth and sensitivity by Dan Leegant and Bill Ackridge, through a night’s rounds at a time when one of their colleagues is brutally murdered. They audition for parts, play cards, trade tall tales, pick up fares, cope with the murder and try to get on with life.

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Posted by Metro Council on May 7, 2012 in Drama, Service Workers, Transportation, Working Class

Swiped? (2008)

07 May

6m; U.S.

Director: Fivel Rothberg

Synopsis: Effect of credit card/GPS machines on NYC cabbies, who see them as “an affront to their autonomy and dignity.” Investigates how cabbies are faring under the TLC’s “Technology Enhancement” program.

Contact: Fivel Rothberg 6 Saint Francis Place, Apt 2 Brooklyn, NY 11216 fivel.rothberg@gmail.com 215-990-4442

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Posted by Metro Council on May 7, 2012 in Documentary, Technology, Transportation, Working Class

Taxi! (1932)

07 May

69m; U.S.

Director: Roy del Ruth

Cast: James Cagney, Loretta Young and George E. Stone

Synopsis (IMDB): Amidst a backdrop of growing violence and intimidation, independent cab drivers struggling against a consolidated juggernaut rally around hot-tempered Matt Nolan. Nolan is determined to keep competition alive on the streets, even if it means losing the woman he loves.

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Posted by Metro Council on May 7, 2012 in Crime-Action, Drama, Transportation, Working Class

TWU Local 234 SEPTA Transit Strike: Day 3 (2010)

07 May

2m; U.S.

Director: Mary Matthews

Synopsis: Philadelphia’s SEPTA transit workers, having gone without a contract since March 2009, continue to strike for a fair pension.

Contact: Mary C. Matthews Interactive Media Producer/Director Transport Workers Union of America 1700 Broadway 2nd Floor New York, NY 10019 Office: 212-259-4903 E-mail: mmatthews@twu.org

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Posted by Metro Council on May 7, 2012 in Documentary, Strikes-Strikebreaking-Lockouts, Transportation

TWU Local 525: Rocket Jobs At Risk (2010)

07 May

6m; U.S.

Director: Mary Matthews

Synopsis: TWU Local 525 provides ground support for both manned and unmanned NASA missions and their jobs are at risk, as is the future of space exploration.

Contact: Mary C. Matthews Interactive Media Producer/Director Transport Workers Union of America 1700 Broadway 2nd Floor New York, NY 10019 Office: 212-259-4903 E-mail: mmatthews@twu.org

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Posted by Metro Council on May 7, 2012 in Documentary, Technology, Transportation

Taxi Dreams (2000)

07 May

Director: Joanna Head

Cast: Muhammed Ahsan, Rafik Bakayev and Pramanik Bharadwaj

Synopsis (IMDB): These days, 90% of taxicab license applicants are born outside of the U. S… Taxi Dreams follows the stories of five of these immigrant drivers…on the road to the American dream.

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Posted by Metro Council on May 7, 2012 in Documentary, Immigrants/Immigration, Transportation

Taxi to Timbuktu (1994)

07 May

51m; U.S.
Director: Christopher Walken

Synopsis (Icarus Film): Alpha is a New York City taxi-driver. He comes from Batama, a village in the poorest region of Mali, Africa, a country among the poorest on earth. Since the drought of 1973, there has never been enough rain – the rivers have dried up, the animals have died, the trees are gone and the fields have turned to desert. The men of Batama have gone abroad, hoping to earn enough to keep the women and children alive.

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Posted by Metro Council on May 7, 2012 in Drama, Immigrants/Immigration, Transportation, Working Class

Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (1992)

07 May

90m; U.S.

Director: Alastair Reid

Cast: Brian Dennehy, Jeff Daniels and Maria Conchita Alonso, Eli Wallach

Synopsis (IMDB): For a generation, the mobs main money machine was the Teamsters Union. When Jimmy Hoffa disappeared, the fight was on to see who could follow him. Jackie Presser was the son of a long time union board member and when he retired, Jackie was elevated to one of the most powerful position in the country; President of the Teamsters Union.

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Posted by Metro Council on May 7, 2012 in Collective Bargaining, Drama, Transportation, Working Class

The Big Sell Out (2007)

07 May

94m; Germany

Director: Florian Optiz

Synopsis: This film exposes the role of the IMF and World Bank by showing the effect of their policies on the lives of working people from around the world. They include an UK RMT railroad activist fighting to protect the UK railroad system, a Bolivian community activists fighting water privatization and a South African activist fighting to keep the lights on in Soweto which leads to a fight against the ANC government. This international film draws the connection of the policies of global capitalism of privatization and deregulation to the destruction of public services and the ruination of the environment and the people of the world.

Contact: Florian Opitz is a freelance documentary filmmaker, author and journalist. He was born in Saarbrücken, Germany in 1973. Since 1998 he has been working as a freelance filmmaker and journalist for several European TV stations, including for ARD, ARTE and ZDF. His work includes numerous political and historical documentaries, such as the made-for-TV features Tibet – Myth and Reality (Tibet – Mythos und Wirklichkeit, 2001) and Arabs – History of a Perceived Enemy (Die Araber – Geschichte eines Feindbildes, 2003).

flopitz@spring-productions.de http://www.thebigsellout.org

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Posted by Metro Council on May 7, 2012 in Documentary, Global Economy, Organizing, Politics, Public Sector, Transportation