Friday evening, UE Young Activists from the Eastern Region watched Salt of the Earth, one of the greatest labor films of all time. Released in 1954, it was made by filmmakers who had been blacklisted - banned from working in Hollywood under the red scare assault on free speech and progressive politics. Its the true story of a strike by mostly Mexican American zinc miners in New Mexico, and how the miners wives won the strike by taking over picketing when the men were banned by an injunction. The film was far ahead of its time in confronting issues of racial and gender equality. Most of the actors were the actual miners and spouses; and the film was strongly supported by their union, the Mine, Mill & Smelter Workers. Mine-Mill, as it was called, was a progressive, rank-and-file union much like UE, and like UE it was heavily attacked in the 50s. Salt of the Earth is widely available on inexpensive DVDs, but the full film is also on YouTube.
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 23:01:03 +0000
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