Happy Labor Day!

I hope everyone is having a great day, enjoying the fruits of their own labor, and resting up for the fight ahead.

I just read an anti-union blogger’s post that purported to recommend labor movies but which were mostly organized crime movies that happened to have a Teamster in them. They also recommended Matewan and Norma Rae, which are in fact great labor movies. I thought I would share my list of labor movies, and encourage you to have yourself a little film fest this week.

1. Harlan County USA: This is an incredible documentary about a miners’ strike in Kentucky in the 1970s. Watch it in conjunction with Matewan (about a miners’ strike in the 20s) and then go get your heart broken reading about the 2021-23 miners’ strike in Alabama.
2. After you watch Norma Rae, about a young mom organizing the textile mill where she works, cue up Silkwood, about a labor activist and whistleblower at a nuclear manufacturing plant. Streep got one of her million Oscar nominations for her performance and Cher (yes, CHER) won a Golden Globe award for her role as Streep’s friend.
3. Salt of the Earth (1954): Another miners’ strike, this time in New Mexico, pits the Mexican-American workers against the corporation that pays them less than white workers. After the company gets an injunction against the strike, the women take over the picket lines. Many of the roles were played by non-professional actors, including members of the community in which the story takes place. The filmmakers were later blacklisted as communists.
4. 9 to 5: On its face, this may not seem like a labor movie, but since it’s about three women who get together to air their grievances and take action against their sexually harassing boss, it’s basically a screwball comedy about collective action in the workplace. Plus, Dolly Parton! Jane Fonda! Lily Tomlin!
5. Brassed Off: A British comedy (?) about a brass band of workers fighting to stop the closure of their pit (mine).
6. Billy Elliott: A boy follows his dream of becoming a dancer despite his father’s objections to the “unmanly” activity. Billy’s father and brother are striking mineworkers, and they obviously come ‘round eventually, but this is a really good movie (also British). As an aside, I wonder why the vast majority of labor movies involve mineworkers. Does the United Mine Workers have a film division?
7. Full Monty: Finally! This one is about unemployed steelworkers who turn to striptease to make money. Hilarious, right? Honestly, Magic Mike is also a labor movie.
8. Bread and Roses: This is a fictionalized account of the Janitors for Justice campaign that took place in LA in the late 90s. I like a lot of things about it except that Adrian Brody is in it. He annoys me.
9. Enemy of the State: This is a better-than-average spy thriller that is not about labor but here’s the nexus: Will Smith plays a labor lawyer who gets ensnared in this slightly convoluted NSA plot because of his union client and a weird ex-girlfriend played by Lisa Bonet. Regina King is his wife. I like this movie because it suggests labor lawyers could definitely solve international crimes. Also it was hilarious to see all the ways that the filmmakers got union lawyers wrong. We do not in fact drive Mercedes Benzs when we’re third-year associates, for example.
10. Emily the Criminal: Emily the Criminal is the mirror opposite of Enemy of the State. On its face, it has nothing to do with labor. Emily is an artist and part-time catering drudge who gets involved with an identity theft ring. But the movie is about how both art and labor have been so devalued in our society that criminal activity is the most rational choice. Shockingly good.
11. In the same vein, I recommend Parasite and Snowpiercer, both films about the stark class divides in society and how they are perpetuated. Is Bong Joon-ho the best labor director in the business right now?
12. Roger & Me: I’m not sure you’re allowed to have a list of labor movies without Michael Moore’s classic about the auto industry. Moore’s subsequent work has been dreck, so it can hard to remember how good he used to be at illustrating the human side of the depravity of capitalism. This one is a keeper.

There are lots of other good labor movies; I just haven’t seen them all. Here are the Chicago Library’s recommendations.

Finally, I want to recommend another newsletter, Rangelife, by my internet friend, Eric. In his last missive, Eric said, “Have a good Labor Day, y’all. It’s a holiday, so don’t work for free.” That helped me decide to turn on paid subscriptions on my newsletter. For now, I’m going to send out the same content to both paid and free subscribers, but it’s useful to be reminded that, as much as I enjoy writing, it’s also labor, and it’s okay to be paid for it. So thanks, Eric, and thanks to all of you who keep reading. I hope you will consider upgrading to a paid subscription. Happy Labor Day! (And don’t work for free.)

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