PANIOLO O HAWAI'I: Cowboys of the Far West (1997, color, 79 min., Film Works Ltd.)
Hawai'i’s Paniolo learned to ride and rope from the great vaqueros of early California, forty years before the word cowboy came to be. Today, their influence still preserves the Hawaiian language, culture and spirit of Aloha in the most beautiful cattle country in the world. Brought to you by Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center Inc., in association with Bishop Museum Native Hawaiian Culture & Arts Program present an Edgy Lee film. Written by Paul Berry & Edgy Lee. Music composed and conducted by Robert Wehrman with additional music produced by Jim Ed Norman and Nahalani Lim Yap courtesy of Warner Bros. Records. Narrated by Willie Nelson, John Lake and others. Edited, produced, and directed Edgy Lee.
PICTURE BRIDE (1995, Miramax Films 95 min VHS & DVD)
A feature length film starring Youki Kudoh and Tamlyn Tomita that tells the story of Riyo, a
young woman from Japan who ventures to Hawai'i as a "picture bride" in 1918. She is shocked
to find a husband much older than she'd been told about and and forced to take up gruelling work
in the sugar canefields.
PICTURE BRIDES - Rice & Roses (1986, 30 min, V-44)
The story of the way Japanese and Korean plantation workers in Hawai'i arranged marriages with
women back in their homelands whom they have never met, featuring the research of the
University of Hawai'i's Alice Chai and Barbara Kawakami.
PLANTATION MEMORIES - Rice & Roses (1986, 30 min, V-44)
The Rice & Roses' camera brings scenes and talk story reminiscence from Kaua'i's
Grove Farm Plantation, Maui's Pa'ia Mill foundry and a celebration cooking at the Waipahu
Cultural Garden Park.
THE STATEHOOD YEARS - Rice & Roses (1986, 30 min, V-13)
A co-production of CLEAR and the UH Oral History Project, Rice & Roses looks
back at the people, issues and events that set the stage for Hawai'i's statehood, featuring
interviews with such notables as Robert McElrath, Dan Aoki, Mrs. Burns, David Trask, and the
former Governor Quinn.
STAND UP! A HISTORY OF THE HAWAII STATE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION
(1995, 14 min)
A brief overview of the history of Hawaii's teachers union, founded in 1970. Produced by the
Hawaii State Teachers Association.
THE ROLE OF HAWAI'I'S UNIONS IN THE 21st CENTURY, You and the Law in Hawai'i 'Olelo series (Spring 2000 series, 90 mins.)
Unions have always been an important step towards empowerment, with their actions reverberating throughout labor history's conflict-laden periods of growth. In this topical discussion hosted by legal education chair Robert Leclair, a panel consisting of local notables, Dr. J.N. Musto, Mike Nauyokas, Tony Rutledge, Arlene Ilae and Dr. William Puette, explains unionization in Hawai'i, from the perspectives within their own specialized fields--Just what is the importance of representation? What impact does the employment-at-will doctrine place upon the area of occupational protection, and what are some of the effects and laws that the public sector presents regarding the people in Hawaii? Are there exclusive characteristics of shop stewards? How and why did a resource facility like the Center for Labor Education & Research (CLEAR) at the University of Hawai'i come about, and what does it offer? These are but some of the issues raised and tackled during this 90-minute episode. With such diverse areas represented, the insightful commentary enlightens the viewer of the relationship shared between unions, the workforce, labor, and their noticeable influences on the state of Hawai'i.
Unity House Labor Day Special: THE STRUGGLE FOR DIGNITY (1992, 30 min.)
Woven into the fabric of Hawaii’s labor history are the invaluable lives that have risked it all, spilling both their spirits and blood to help create the “benefits” that many take for granted today. With dedication and a need to survive during the burgeoning growth of industries like sugar, industrial construction, and tourism, the Hawaiian workforce eventually gained the power to voice concerns over wage issues, benefits, abuse, and generally discriminatory treatment that neglected their basic human rights. This film examines and recounts the impact of such revolutionary efforts as the common worker continued to struggle for and during change: from the Koloa Sugar plantation-day beginnings, the stressful waterfront depressions, and even the hellish repercussions of World War II; historically significant movements that have led to the establishment and improvement of empowering tools such as organizing, the formation of unions, and the ability to strike. While realizing the plights and issues of island workers were universal, the emergences of Unity House, Local 5, the various Teamster unions, along with the more recent educational services and resource facilities ignited a sentiment of solidarity, helping to battle ever-present opposition, like the business-hardened Harry Weinberg, and achieving key victories that urge for the return to respectability of Hawaii’s working men and women. Featuring Unity House founder Art Rutledge and president, Tony Rutledge, Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka, former mayor Frank Fasi, U.S. Representatives Patsy Mink and Neil Abercrombie, and the Reverend Jesse Jackson. Narrated by Brickwood Galuteria. A Unity House production. Directed by Dennis Christianson. Executive Producer Roderick Rodriguez. Produced and written by Shannon Carreiro.
10,000 BLACK MEN NAMED GEORGE (2001, 95 min.)
The powerful true story of labor organizer Asa Philip Randolph (Andre
Braugher), who faces racism and political corruption in a 12-year battle to unionize railway porters in the 1920s and '30s. Disrespectfully called
"George" by their white passengers, the porters work in demeaning conditions for shameful wages, but soon the powerful Pullman Company is waging a campaign of fear against Randolph and his allies, porters Ashley (Mario Van Peebles) and Milton (Charles S. Dutton). Brock Peters costars in this gripping, fact-based original drama. (Showtime original film premiered February 24th at 7 p.m. CT; Paramount Pictures; directed by Robert Townsend)
BREAD AND ROSES [2000, 110 min.]
Gripping story of a group of the immigrant workers who take a stand against the million dollar corporations who employ them. Based on the SEIU's Justice for Janitor's organizing efforts in Los Angeles. Appalled by the working conditions and the unfair labor practices of their employers, two newly arrived illegal immigrants working as janitors in a major downtown office building team up with a union organizer to fight for human dignity and economic justice on the job.
(Lions Gate Films, directed by Ken Loach, starring Adrien Brody and Pilar Padilla, Cannes Film Festival award nominee and winner og santa Barbara Internatonal Film Festival's Phoenix Prize)
AMERICA'S VICTORY: THE 1997 UPS STRIKE (1997, 10 min.)
The Teamsters have produced this new short video describing the historic UPS
Settlement. Positive and very upbeat, it shows how they prepared for contract negotiations, and
organized their membership and community support for the union's bargaining proposals.
A. PHILIP RANDOLPH: FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM (1995, 90 min)
The PBS biography of A. Philip Randolph (1889-1979) one of America's most brilliant leaders, a
civil rights and labor activist who, for over 40 eventful years, provided much of the
organizational energy behind the struggle for African American equality, believing that the
struggle to achieve economic rights was the key to advancing civil rights as well as the labor
movement. He organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, a national union of railroad
porters in the 1920s, and persuaded President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to bar racial
discrimination in federal hiring programs created by the New Deal. In 1963 he led the March on
Washington at the age of 74. [Produced by WETA-TV, Washington D.C.]
CESAR CHAVEZ: The Hispanic and Latin American Heritage Video Collection (1995, 30 min.)
With a lot of patience and hard work over the course of 30 years, Chavez successfully organized farm workers and other poor people, helping them to win social justice and uphold their dignity as human beings. Chavez’ stance on non-violence proves that enthusiasm and strict dedication to a cause can be as effective, if not more effective, than force. Chavez’ example continues to inspire individuals and movements across the United States and in other countries to struggle for justice without violence. The rallying cry, “!Si Se Puede!,” “Yes, it can be done!” continues to be heard throughout the U.S. as schools, roads and monuments are dedicated in Chavez’ name. In 1994, President Bill Clinton posthumously awarded to Cesar Chavez the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the highest civilian honor in the United States. A Schlessinger video production, a division of Library Video Company. Adapted from the book by Chelsea House Publishers. Produced and directed by Fabian-Baber Communication, Inc. Executive Producer, Andrew Schlessinger.
CHICANO!: THE STRUGGLE IN THE FIELDS (1996, 57 min)
Episode 2 of a four-part series on the history of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement,
chronicling the efforts of farmworkers to form a national labor union. Under the leadership of
Cesar Chavez, farmworkers launched a strike against California grape-growers in 1965,
demanding better working conditions and fair wages. In 1970, they undertook a national table
grape boycott that eventually led to the first union contract in farm labor history.
COLLECTIVE VOICES - THE TEXTILE STRIKE OF 1912 (1990, 21
min)
The story of the famous Bread & Roses strike of the Lawrence textile mill workers and the IWW
organizing that led 25,000 strikers through three months of conflict to victory. Produced by the
Massachusetts AFL-CIO, the Office of the Massachusetts Secretary of State and The
Commonwealth Museum.
HARLAN COUNTY, USA (1976, 103 min, V-19)
Long after the mine workers` struggles depicted in John Sayles` Matewan, but just
thirteen years before their industry-wide struggle with Pittston, miners were fighting for their
union in Kentucky. Portraying this classic twentieth century conflict between mine workers, the
coal company and the local police, this film chronicles the efforts of 180 coal mining families to
win a United Mine Workers contract in Harlan County. In 1976 the film won an Academy
Award for Best Documentary.
In Search of History: THE TRUE STORY OF THE MOLLY MAGUIRES (1998 A & E Television Networks; 60 min.)
In the 1870s, twenty Irish immigrants suspected of belonging to a secret terrorist organization, the Molly Maguires, were executed in the coal mining region of eastern Pennsylvania. Their crime was the murder of sixteen men, mainly mine officials. Over the next two years, ten more were hanged. Justice at Last declared newspapers of the day. Ever since, a debate has raged over who the Mollies were--bloodthirsty gangsters or the innocent victims of spies, detectives and railroad barons. THE TRUE STORY OF THE MOLLY MAGUIRES examines every source available to produce a definitive chronicle of this infamous event. There is no doubt that the powers that be were allied against the miners at a time when anti-Irish and anti-Catholic sentiment ran at a fever pitch, and the courts were stacked in the favor of big business. But does that mean the Mollies were innocent? Here, their descendants argue passionately for their cause, and the century-old evidence is re-investigated. This is an unbiased look at the infamous case that still has emotions running high over 100 years later. Produced by Weller/Grossman Productions for The History Channel. Narrated by David Ackroyd. Produced and written by Nancy Gimbrone.
MARTIN: WITH US STILL (1988, 9 min, V-34)
On the 20th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a look back at the
conditions that led to the sanitation workers' strike with excerpts from Dr. King`s I`ve been
to the mountain top speech.
MATEWAN (1987, John Sayles - feature film: 100 min, V-36)
Matewan, West Virginia, coal mining country, was the site of an infamous massacre in 1920,
when striking miners clashed with the hired thugs of the Stone Mountain Coal Co. Chris Cooper
plays the IWW union man, Joe Kenehan, sent to Matewan to organize the workers. The miners
have gone on strike and the company has brought in scabs: blacks from Alabama and Italians
just off the boat. Joe is finally able to convince the three groups to work together so the company
is forced to hire two gunmen to get rid of Joe and break the strike. A pacifist, Joe desperately
tries to avoid the armed feud that eventually erupts savagely.
NEW HARVEST, OLD SHAME (1990, 60 min, V-40)
A CPB Frontline update of Edward R. Murrow`s classic 1960 documentary Harvest of Shame
that revisits the migrant farm workers who annually travel from Florida to the mid-West and
back. From their decrepit housing and inadequate medical benefits to the substandard wages and
lack of access to ordinary labor law protections, 800,000 migrants, thirty years after Murrow`s
expose, still live in labor camps and suffer working conditions as bad, if not worse, in 1990 than
they did in 1960. In 1986, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) organized Campbell`s
migrant workers, but union organizers still cannot reach the majority of the workers. Many
employers resort instead to illegal aliens to keep their costs down, creating racial tensions
between Black Americans, Guatemalans and Haitians. Aired on public television on AprilĘ17,
1990.
P.O.V.: THE UPRISING OF '34 (1995, 90 min.)
A fledging textile workers' union attempted unsuccessfully in 1934 to organize garment workers
in the South. Originally broadcast by the Public Braodcasting System on June 27, 1995, this
documentary looks at one of the greatest social upheavals in the South since the Civil War and
decades before the Civil Rights movement was able to take on the great industrial bastions of
economic power in the South.
THE RIVER RAN RED (1993, 58 min)
Blair Brown narrates this gripping account of the Homestead Lockout. In the summer of 1892, a
bitter conflict erupted at the Carnegie Steel Works in Homestead, Pennsylvania. The nation`s
largest steel maker hired a small army of Pinkerton detective agency armed guards to invade
Homestead and subdue the union men and their community supporters with devasting
consequences.
SALT OF THE EARTH (1954, Independent Prod. - feature film, 94 min,
V 46)
A strong pro-labor film with a particularly sympathetic interest in the Mexican-Americans with
whom it deals. True, it frankly implies that the mine operators have taken advantage of the
Mexican-born or descended laborers, have forced a speed up in their mining
techniques and given them less respectable homes than provided the so-called Anglo laborers. It
slaps at brutal police tactics in dealing with the strikers and it gets in some rough, sarcastic digs
at the attitude of `the bosses` and the working of the Taft-Hartley Law. (from the New York
Times review by Bosley Crowther, 3-15-54)
SIT DOWN AND FIGHT: WALTER REUTHER AND THE RISE OF THE UNITED
AUTO WORKERS UNION (1992, 60min)
A PBS documentary produced for
The American Experience series introduced by David McCullough, narrated by Tresa Hughes,
written & produced by Charlotte Mitchell Zwerin.
STRIKESTORY: San Francisco before the `34 (1994, 30 min)
A documentary film by Rhian Miller telling a part the story of the West Coast Dock strike of
1934. This film focuses on the Great General Strike in San Francisco that was supported by
100,000 workers and shut down the city for three days, and the murder July 6th on Mission
Street of picketing longshoremen. Featuring interviews with Bill Bailey, Elaine Black Yoneda
and many of the survivors of that historic strike that saw the birth of th ILWU.
THE WRATH OF GRAPES (1986, 10:21 min.)
Masked by a largely successful agricultural industry, the towns of California have inhumanely suffered from poisoned crops and contaminated water supplies. Like a holocaustic epidemic, the effects of pesticide usage and its harmful repercussions have plagued many innocent workers, ravaging nearby residents and consumers alike. The film documents the plights of the California grape farm worker and focuses on the constant struggle that they must endure while dealing with the hazards of their occupation and efforts in achieving and maintaining protection of their most basic, but essential rights. As they face many health concerns that range from tragic child deformities, cancer, to immediate death, they also have to contend with opposing powerful corporations, who not only sabotage their unionization attempts, but also seem aloof to their problems. Featured in the film is UFW founder and charismatic leader Caesar Chavez and many specific victims of the horrific California grape situation.
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