Labor Day - Some Great Documentaries & Films to Watch this Weekend

LABOR DAY: The first pro-labor parade in New York City on September 5, 1882. The first Monday in September is Labor Day, as established in 1894 in response to the railroad Pullman Strike (https://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-labor-day.html).

There are going to many rallies and marches throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and across the country this Labor Day on Monday, September 1 (https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2025/08/05/18878715.php).

In San Francisco, there will be two Labor Day protests, one to be held by several Federal Employees' Unions (https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2025/08/20/18879132.php), and another in the Mission District to be held by SEIU and other labor groups
(https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2025/08/19/18879085.php)

Get out and join a Labor Day 2025 rally, but also spend time this weekend watching some great films.

LABOR & UNIONS DOCUMENTARIES AND FILMS:

A small selection of FREE films

Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos (2020)
Frontline: "Jeff Bezos is not only one of the richest men in the world, he has built a business empire that is without precedent in the history of American capitalism. His power to shape everything from the future of work to the future of commerce to the future of technology is unrivaled."
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVVfJVj5z8s

Frontline offers over 200 of its documentaries on YouTube for FREE here: https://www.youtube.com/PBSfrontline/videos

Harlan County USA (1976)
Academy Award winning documentary on the Eastern Kentucky Coal Miner's Strike in 1973 against Duke Power Company.
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwXfZF7dXtE

Children of Labor: A Finnish-American History (1977)
Kanopy states: "The story of how Finnish immigrants came into contact — and conflict — with industrial America. The film focuses on the people, their organizations, and the challenges posed by both McCarthy-era political repression and present-day Home Useism."
Watch on Kanopy (FREE library streaming service with your library card):
https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/95802

Salt of the Earth (1954)
Banned during the McCarthy Era, this drama is based on the 1951 strike by mainly Mexican-American workers against the Empire Zinc Company in New Mexico. In 1992, it was honored by joining the list of the Library of Congress's National Film Registry of significant U.S. films (wiki).
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuFRCdQzV9Y

Blood on the Mountain (2016)
Documentary on the history of coal miners in Virginia fighting for their rights.
'Datebook' states: "From the legendary work of activist Mother Jones to the terrible Battle of Blair Mountain (one of the only times the American government has bombed its own citizens), the movie shows the ridiculous lengths that mine owners and their allies in the government and law enforcement went to keep the miners from winning their rights"*
Watch for FREE on Pluto TV (w/ ads): https://pluto.tv/us/on-demand/movies/61573e72c7de1b0013704022

The Struggles in the Fields (1995)
Documentary on labor organizer César Chávez leading the farmworker movement in California.
Watch here on Chicano! online: https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/chicano-episode-2-struggle-fields

Other Chicano! social & racial justice episodes include:

Chicano! Episode 1: Quest for Homeland: https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/chicano-episode-1-quest-homeland

Chicano! Episode 3: Taking Back the Schools: https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/chicano-episode-3-taking-back-schools

Chicano! Episode 4: Fighting for Political Power: https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/chicano-episode-4-fighting-political-power

Dolores (2017)
PBS documentary on the life and activism of farmworker rights organizer, Dolores Huerta.
Watch on Kanopy (FREE library streaming service with your library card): https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/13796329

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
The award winning drama film based on the John Steinbeck classic novel about a family forced to leave their Oklahoma home during the Dust Bowl drought and devastating economic poverty of the Great Depression.
Watch here: https://archive.org/details/the-grapes-of-wrath-1940

How Green was My Valley (1941)
Winner of 5 Academy Awards, and old-fashioned classic film - based on the novel of the same name - tells the story of Victorian family facing life's joys, labor struggles, and tragedies a Welsh mining village. Quote: "With strength goes responsibility - to others and to yourselves. For you cannot conquer injustice with more injustice. . . ."
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mBkd-Au4IY

For more movies, go to this article in 'Datebook' magazine online: https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/for-labor-day-here-are-five-documentaries-the-bosses-dont-want-you-to-see

PHOTO: United Farmworkers protest (Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University).
https://eji.org/news/history-racial-injustice-farmworkers-movement/