International Working Class FilmFest

FIVE FILMS


MOTHER JONES: America’s Most Dangerous Woman

The life of Mother Jones, one of the most famous Irish born labor activists in the U.S., was brutal. Her 5 children died in a yellow fever epidemic in Memphis, Tennessee. She then moved to Chicago and during the Chicago fire she lost her home, shop, and all her belongings. In her late 50’s she began to struggle for workers rights with the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and helped organize strikes and marches including marches to protest child labor. This powerful video by Rosemary Feurer tells her story and the fight for rank and file power that she stood for. Rose will also discuss her new book Radical Unionism in the Midwest 1900-1950.
http://www.comm.niu.edu/faculty/vazquez/virden/jones.html


STOLT AUSTRALIA

This film by the Maritime Union Austalia (MUA) film unit is about the fight by the MUA ship crew of the MT Stolt who tried to keep it from being reflagged with the resulting destruction of jobs. The crew debates whether to take up the fight and what it means for them and the workers in the rest of the industry. The need for solidarity was clearly the decisive factor in making this a victory for the crew and the union.
http://www.mua.org.au/news/general/stolt7.html


WE LIVE ON THE RAILROAD

This is the story of the railroad worker union's fight against the privatization of Japan Rail. The union is called Doro-Chiba, short for the National Railway Motive Power Union of Chiba. Chiba is a city with a huge international port near Tokyo.
http://www.doro-chiba.org/english/english.htm


THE CLEANERS CHRISTMAS CAROL

The rail and Tube (BART) cleaners of the Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMT) in the U.K. were seriously underpaid with wages at $5.35 per hour. They waged a campaign for decent wages, at least $7.05. This film by Chris Kasrils shows how their campaign for a living wage runs up against scrooge.
http://www.rmt.org.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=98930&int1stParentNodeID=89732


HOLA AUSTRALIA

Australian wharfies – workers in the Maritime Union of Australia -- win a trip to Cuba and learn about fellow maritime workers as well as the healthcare system of the country. This film is a first-hand look at healthcare in Cuba and how it operates.


Before and after the films, everyone's invited in indulge in our Humanist Tea House.

$5 donations accepted.