A new made-for-television documentary series aims to unpack the history of the labor movement in the United States in five one-hour episodes to combat anti-union propaganda at a time when union power is waning and collective bargaining rights are under attack across the nation.
Legendary folk singer and activist Pete Seeger will help narrate the new series “Strength in Union,” which tackles the history of the U.S. labor movement from its origins in the early Industrial Revolution to its historic struggles in incidents ranging from the battle with the Pinkertons, the Haymarket Riot in Chicago, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory strike and fire, the Taft-Hartley Act, Reagan’s firing of the air traffic controllers in the ’80s, and on to some of today’s most important labor issues, including free trade agreements and the effects of globalization on U.S. unions.
“[Labor] is both in a time of crisis and in a time of rebirth, and I think most of the important labor leaders realize that and they’re really looking for new ways to move into the future and new ways to deal with changes like globalization,” says the series’s director, Caesar Pink.
Pink grew up in a small, rural town in central Pennsylvania where the steel-mill was one of the primary employers, and most of the jobs were union. But as wages began to stagnate and the factories closed down, people began to see little hope for a better future. An array of social problems like alcoholism and domestic abuse flooded the town.
Caesar says that right-wing propaganda has turned many people in his town anti-union. His interests in how labor relations and media propaganda affected his hometown are part of what originally motivated him to work on the “Strength in Union” project.
The series will feature interviews with labor leaders such as Leo Gerard, international president of the United Steel Workers; Lawrence Hanley, president of the American Transportation Workers; Cliff Guffey, president of the American Postal Workers Union; and Daniel Walkowitz, author and New York University labor historian.
The series also hopes to weave in intersecting issues like race relations, women’s rights and the ups and downs of the U.S. economy, throughout its examination of the history of the U.S. labor movement. The series will also look at the larger forces and motives behind anti-union campaigns of the past as well as the present.
“We hope that the film will make people see what a heroic role union members played throughout American history in giving us the things we take for granted, whether it’s safety on the job, wages, weekends, all of those things,” Pink said.
“Strength in Union” also will tackle the future of the labor movement by researching the off-shoring and outsourcing of jobs, and how that issue has played a role in the decline of today’s labor unions, as well as new possible paths for unions in an expanding and changing world.
The series is being produced by the Arete Living Arts Foundation and likely will air on PBS after post-production wraps up. Shooting is expected to be finished by the end of the year.
“I hope this will kind of push back against the right-wing propaganda that’s really affecting people, especially in rural areas of America,” Pink said.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
After the election, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy