Books and films

A Wives' Tale / Une histoire de femmes

A film about the women who supported the 1978 miners strike against Inco, the multinational which owned the nickel mines in Sudbury, Ontario. As the women became increasingly involved in the strike, they questioned more and more their traditional supportive role.

Svárovská stávka

The book describes a workers’ strike at the Johann Liebieg textile factory in 1870 in Svárov, in Velké Hamry in the Jablonec region. The strike was brutally suppressed by gendarmes and soldiers, and seven people lost their lives.

Seetha Ramulu

A remake made for the Telugu-speaking audience of Indian cinema, this film is based on Kanavan Manaivi (Husband and Wife, 1976), originally created for Tamil viewers. Ramu is a union leader, and Sita is the owner of a factory.

Numax presenta...

A documentary that describes the self-management experiment carried out by the workers of the Numax appliance factory, in response to the owners’ attempt to shut it down irregularly.

A Question of Leadership

The film focuses on the discussion of the new situation that arose in the British labor movement after the defeat of the 13-week national steelworkers' strike of 1980, which was the first in the industry after a 50-year hiatus and led by the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation (ISTC). The unions were unprepared to confront the aggressive anti-labor…

9 to 5

Three frustrated secretaries — Judy, Doralee, and Violet — decide to get rid of their obnoxious boss by faking his death and placing him under house arrest. Seizing the moment, they implement a completely new order at work, one that benefits each of the employees.

The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter

Rafferty

Set in the USA during the 1960s and 1970s, Deputy Head of the Transport Workers' Union Jack Rafferty testifies before a government commission regarding corruption allegations. He could invoke the Fifth Amendment to avoid self-incrimination, but if he does, he must say goodbye to his prospects of becoming the union chairman.

Arms Crossed, Machines Stopped / BRAÇOS CRUZADOS, MÁQUINAS PARADAS /

Three slates vie for leadership of the Metalworkers' Union of São Paulo, the largest in Latin America, with 300,000 members, and chaired by a "pelego" (aligned with the bosses), since the military coup of 1964. Amid election, hatch the first workers' strikes that would change the country.

Retrato de Teresa / Portrait of Teresa

Teresa is overwhelmed: with a husband, three young sons, a job as a crew leader in a textile factory, and volunteer commitments as cultural leader of her union. Her husband, Ramón, wants more of her attention; her feelings are mixed, wanting domestic peace, feeling responsibilities to the revolution, and wanting to control her own life beyond doing dirty…

Railway / Demir Yol

Railway workers are on strike. The worker in the strike committee, Hasan, his brother Bülent and his friends miss a supermarket's food truck.

Norma Rae

Norma Rae worked in the South at a textile factory. Norma began fighting for her rights and the rights of her fellow workers alongside the union.

The Wobblies

A film that sheds light on the Industrial Workers of the World, whose strikes thundered across America. The film contains archival footage as well as interviews with members of the IWW.

Union Maids

With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women's Emergency Brigade

The film focuses on an episode from the sit-down strike organized by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union between December 1936 and February 1937 at two General Motors plants. Specifically, it highlights the role of a support group formed by female workers and the wives of strikers, who provided aid to the workers occupying the factories.

12,000 Men

The fight for decent wages and improved working conditions took on an urgency when the British Empire Steel Corporation, or BESCO, bought every single steel and coal company in Nova Scotia. When the Montreal-based company cut wages by a third, a long and bitter dispute began.

Cananea

The film is based on real events that occurred just before the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1917. It follows the story of the mining magnate Colonel Gringo William Green, his profitable business, and his shady dealings with local authorities, including President Porfirio Díaz.

Now We Really Have to Win! / ¡Ora sí tenemos que ganar!

Set in the final years of the Porfiriato, the film follows miners in Real del Monte who endure harsh working conditions under foreign-owned companies. After a devastating mine collapse, the workers unite to rescue their trapped comrades—an experience that awakens their collective consciousness and strengthens their resolve to fight for better conditions.

Roots of Blood / Raíces de sangre

Workers at the Morris clothing factory in a Mexican border town attempt to form a union but face fierce resistance from management, led by Mr. Flint.

The Industrial Proletariat of Turkey / Türkiye Sanayi Proletaryası

Dig Where You Stand: How to Research a Job / Gräv där du står

First published in 1978, Dig Where You Stand is a rallying cry for workers to become researchers, to follow the money, take on the role as experts on their job, and “dig” out its hidden histories in order to take a vital step towards social and economic transformation. A how-to guide that inspired an entire movement, it makes the case that everyone – not…

The Mine / Maden

Discontent among the miners over their working conditions begins to grow, fueled by the agitation of a revolutionary named Ilya. Initially, a yellow union tries unsuccessfully to intervene, followed by the coal company, alarmed by the unrest, which attempts to pacify the mining town with an amusement park.

The Story of the Lucas Aerospace Shop Stewards’ Alternative Corporate Plan

In 1976, facing rationalisation and redundancies, shop stewards at Lucas Aerospace approached Tony Benn, then Secretary of State for Industry in the UK Labour Government, to discuss their future in the context of Labour’s plans for the nationalisation of the aerospace industry. Benn, a high-profile supporter of the Institute for Workers’ Control,…

Blue Collar

Three friends, factory workers tired of the rudeness of their supervisors, the union’s indifference, and constant poverty, decided to rob the safe in their office. However, in the stolen safe, instead of money, they find some useless documents and...

Convoy

The truck drivers come into conflict with a state sheriff who fines them for even the smallest violations. In protest, they form a convoy — a massive line of trucks speeding across America’s highways.

F.I.S.T.

A ordinary working-class immigrant Johnny Kovak from Cleveland rises to the leadership of a powerful truck drivers' union, fighting for a better life for himself and his fellow workers. In its struggle against the bosses, the union relies on the support of the mafia.

Artem

A two-episode film is centered on Bolshevik leader Fedor Sergeev (Artem), who led the Kharkiv Metalworkers' Union in 1917 and the All-Russian Miners' Union in 1921. Even though the film is filled with ideology and we don't know much about the hero's work in the unions, it depicts a brave, engaged, and creative leader from whom unionists can learn a lot.

Leila and her sisters / Leïla et les autres /

The story of Algerian women trying to live in 1970s Algeria where the society is between conservative values and progressive modern Algeria. Also it depicts strike of workers.

Potiche

Set in 1977, France. Robert Pujol is the owner of an umbrella factory where the workers are on strike.

La experiencia viva. Historia del Sindicato Minero

La experiencia viva is a documentary that recounts the 1950–1951 miners’ strike, which began in Coahuila. The film follows the conflicts, organizing efforts, and solidarity built within the Miners’ Union during key moments of labor repression and resistance.