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Tag Archives: working conditions

Tangled Threads

“Tangled Threads” chronicles labor rights activist Kalpona Akter’s organizing efforts in Bangladesh’s garment industry before and after the Rana Plaza building collapse, which claimed the lives of at least 1,138 garment workers. It does so against the backdrop of two very different worlds: New York’s modeling industry, on the one hand, and Bangladesh’s garment industry, on the other. Produced by STZFilms.

Directed by: Sara Ziff

Sara Ziff is a New York-based filmmaker, fashion model, and labor activist. She co-directed and produced the feature documentary “Picture Me” (2009), which shed light on labor issues in the modeling industry, particularly sexual abuse. Currently she serves as co-founder and executive director of the Model Alliance, a nonprofit labor group for models working in the American fashion industry. Ziff first traveled to Bangladesh in 2012, when she began collaborating with the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS) and the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) to try to organize workers across fashion’s supply chain.

https://www.facebook.com/stzfilms

 

 

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From the Shadows of Power

This awarding winning documentary is a powerful story set in coalfields of Appalachia, Wales and England. It documents firsthand the turmoil in the aftermath of the British Miners Strike of 1984/85 and the parallel struggle of the UMWA in its long running battle with Pittston Coal. This film brings to life the real struggles of working people at the pivotal moment when state power was used to open the floodgates to global capital, aid the destruction of coalfield communities and its labor institutions. Chronicling the critical role played by working class women in these watershed events, it features economist Helen Lewis, Reverend Jesse Jackson, women miners, Betty Heathfield of Britain’s Women Against Pit Closures, NUMs Arthur Scargill, and Labor Party leader Neil Kinnock.

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Directed by: Jean Donohue

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2090505/

http://www.mwg.org

 

 

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Cesar’s Last Fast

In the summer of 1988 Cesar Chavez, then 61 years old, embarked on a water ¬only fast – a personal act of penance for not having done enough to stop growers from spraying toxic pesticides on farm workers. For more than a month no one, including Cesar, knew when he would eat again. Structured around dramatic never-before-seen footage, this film focuses on the story of how Chavez organized America’s poorest, least educated workers, built a movement that successfully challenged our nation’s powerful agribusiness, and launched the modern day Latino civil rights movement in the U.S. Motivated by Catholic social teaching, Chavez risked his life in pursuit economic justice for America’s most vulnerable workforce.

Directed by: Richard Ray Perez, Lorena Parlee

http://cesarslastfast.com/

 

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One Generation’s Time: The Story of Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes

On June 1,1981,Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes, two reform officers in Seattle’s Alaska Cannery Workers’ Union, Local 37 of the (ILWU), were gunned down as they worked in the union offices. The men were attempting to reform the union and were calling for better working conditions in the canneries. On the surface, their murders were meant to look like just another gang-related slaying. But later, the killings were revealed to be a hit originating from the Marcos regime. Silme and Gene’s friends, families and colleagues sought justice for the murders, and continued the fight for equality for the months and years to come. This touching and powerful film details the murders, the fight for fair labor conditions, the civil rights movement the murdered men helped foster, and the ensuing efforts to seek justice for their killings.

Directed by: Shannon Gee

 

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Car Wash Workers in NYC Clean Up Dirty Business

The WASH NY Campaign. the story of the recently successful campaign by RWDSU to bring dignity and fairness to exploited “Carwasheros” around NYC. Special recognition to Charles Fostrom and Janna Pea of the RWDSU and Chio Valerio of New York Communities for Change.

Directed by: Charles Fostrom and Janna Pea of the RWDSU and Chio Valerio of New York Communities for Change

http://www.washnewyork.org/index.php?currentpage=11

 

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Tears in the Fabric

A Documentary Film and Resource Website by Rainbow Collective and Openvizor. In Savar, Bangladesh, Razia struggles to raise two grandchildren after losing her daughters in the Rana Plaza factory collapse, a disaster which claimed the lives of over 1000 garment workers. One year on, Tears in the Fabric follows Razia as, amidst the struggle of raising and educating her grandsons, she searches for resolution and answers through protest on the streets of Dhaka and amongst the rubble and torn fabrics of Rana Plaza. Tears in the Fabric offers a starkly honest and deeply moving view of the human cost of high street fashion.

Directed by: The Rainbow Collective, UK

http://www.rainbowcollective.co.uk/#!tears-in-the-fabric/c1zdc

 

 

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