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Unionization and the Labour Movement (22)
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24 Hours or MoreGilles Groulx 1973 1 h 53 minThis feature film made during an exceptionally feverish period of popular revolt that saw the coming together of Quebec’s 3 main unions (CSN, FTQ, CEQ) is a cinematic tract by socially engaged filmmaker Gilles Groulx. Propped against the backdrop of the 1970 October Crisis, the film is a frontal assault denouncing a “consumer society” viewed as the ultimate embodiment of evil. -
Camera on Labour No. 2Tim Wilson & Alvin Goldman 1956 10 minUnions Build Low Rent Housing: Autumn-winter construction of Ottawa's Mooretown housing development, brain-child of the local council of the Trades and Labor Congress, eliminates seasonal unemployment for bricklayers, plasterers and carpenters. New Life for Ghost Town Miners: Aided by the provincial government, jobless mine workers of Alberta move from Nordegg and other abandoned coal mining areas to obtain new work elsewhere in Canada.
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Camera on Labour No. 4Alvin Goldman 1956 13 minNew Health Service for Garment Workers: Jointly operated by management and union, the Fashion Industries' Health Center in Montréal plays watchdog to the health of International Ladies' Garment Workers Union members through its free diagnostic service. Steelworkers Go to Press: An employee of the Stelco Steel plant in Hamilton, Cecil Lewis doubles as editor of a monthly union newspaper that keeps local members informed of union aims and activities.
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Cotton Mill, TreadmillDenys Arcand 1992 2 h 39 minEnglish subtitled version of a film showing factories' shutdown. Quebec textile workers organize themselves for better, healthier working conditions while the multinationals strenghten their empire.
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The Coca-Cola Case (Short Version)Germán Gutiérrez & Carmen Garcia 2009 52 minFor decades, Colombia has ranked first among countries in the number of social leaders assassinated. From 2002 to 2009, more than 470 leaders were killed by paramilitary militias in the pay of companies ready to do anything to crush the unions. Among these unscrupulous corporate brands were bottling plants of Coca-Cola company products.
These unpunished crimes spur U.S. activists Dan Kovalik, Terry Collingsworth and Ray Rogers into an ambitious crusade against the soft drink giant, accusing them of turning a blind eye to the misdeeds brought to their attention. By following the relentless efforts of this unshakeable trio, The Coca-Cola Case takes us on a fascinating legal road-movie, against a backdrop of denunciation campaigns claiming: Stop Killer Coke!
After five years of struggle, will Coca-Cola yield in the end? And on the verge of a settlement, what will the victims choose—cash, or power and integrity? -
The Coca-Cola CaseGermán Gutiérrez & Carmen Garcia 2009 1 h 25 minFor decades, Colombia has ranked first among countries in the number of social leaders assassinated. From 2002 to 2009, more than 470 leaders were killed by paramilitary militias in the pay of companies ready to do anything to crush the unions. Among these unscrupulous corporate brands were bottling plants of Coca-Cola company products.
These unpunished crimes spur U.S. activists Dan Kovalik, Terry Collingsworth and Ray Rogers into an ambitious crusade against the soft drink giant, accusing them of turning a blind eye to the misdeeds brought to their attention. By following the relentless efforts of this unshakeable trio, The Coca-Cola Case takes us on a fascinating legal road-movie, against a backdrop of denunciation campaigns claiming: Stop Killer Coke!
After five years of struggle, will Coca-Cola yield in the end? And on the verge of a settlement, what will the victims choose—cash, or power and integrity? -
Dues and the UnionDavid Bairstow 1953 16 minThe importance of the regular payment of union dues and how they keep a union going is told through the story of a young pipefitter. New to the trade and to his responsibilities as a union member, Frank Weston found there was much to learn about both. Fortunately for him, his boss on the job--a skilled tradesman and a founder of the union--had the patience to teach him. Through him Frank learns the significance of prompt dues payment and the services provided by them, and comes to enjoy the satisfaction of active and interested union membership.
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Eye Witness No. 87.Walter A. Sutton & Alvin Goldman 1955 11 minWinter Dogs Days: The fourth annual dog derby at Maniwaki, Québec, brings racing teams from different parts of eastern Canada and the United States to compete for honours on the twenty-mile snow-bound course. Steelworkers Go To Press: One of Stelco Steel's ten thousand employees in Hamilton, Cecil Lewis doubles as editor of Steel Shots, a monthly paper reporting on union aims and off-work activities.
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Final OfferSturla Gunnarsson & Robert Collison 1985 1 h 18 minThe filmmakers were given remarkable freedom to record the historic 1984 contract negotiations between the United Auto Workers and General Motors Corporation. Bob White, labour leader of the Canadian branch of the UAW, must also confront his American counterpart from Detroit and succeeds in arriving at a contract that is significantly Canadian. His members had already given him a mandate to fight for independence from the American union. This is an invaluable document for anyone interested in the complexities of United States-Canada relations. It's an extraordinary film about revolutionary events.
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Getting the Most Out of a Film No. 10: Now - The Peace1945 10 minProduced as an introduction to the NFB film Now - The Peace, this film features discussion among members of various unions in the Vancouver area. They express hope that the newly established United Nations, with its Economic Council, will be able to reduce the threat of war and increase the security and prosperity of workers everywhere.
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The GrievanceMorten Parker 1954 29 minThis short documentary is an introductory portrait of labour relations in mid-20th century Canada. Produced in cooperation with the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada, the film traces the process of filing a worker’s grievance in the mechanical and industrial fields. In one instance, an auto-worker files a grievance for being demoted after refusing to work inside a truck cab that he considered too hot. Through several stages of negotiation between union and management, the rights of a worker with a genuine grievance are shown to be protected under the union.
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How They Saw Us: Needles and PinsAnn Pearson & Roger Blais 1977 10 minIn this film about a factory seamstress, there is the substitution of glamor for genuine job satisfaction and advancement. The film was made in 1955.
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Imperfect Union: Canadian Labour and the Left - Part 2 - Born of Hard TimesArthur Hammond 1989 51 minThe world plunges into the Great Depression which, like most leaders, Canada's R.B. Bennett refuses to combat with unbalanced budgets and government spending. Inspired by reports from Russia, many turn to communism for solutions. The 1937 General Motors strike in Oshawa gives the Congress of Industrial Organizations a toehold in Canada, but on the eve of World War II Canada's tiny unions remain blocked by restrictive labour laws and, like the equally tiny Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, locked in struggle with communist rivals. Part 2.
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Imperfect Union: Canadian Labour and the Left - Part 1 - International Background - Canadian RootsArthur Hammond 1989 54 minA look at the problematic relationship of Canadian unions and the New Democratic Party on the eve of the 1980s, as the Socialist International meets in Vancouver. This triggers a flashback to the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, and the birth of both modern trade unions and democratic socialism. The influence of British, American and European immigration, of American trade unions, World War 1 and other events provide a turbulent and fascinating backdrop to the evolution of the Canadian labour-socialist alliance. Part 1.
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Imperfect Union: Canadian Labour and the Left - Part 3 - Falling Apart and Getting TogetherArthur Hammond 1989 53 minWorld War II turns Canada into an industrial power, and creates a mass trade-union movement. Mackenzie King responds with unemployment insurance and full legal status for unions. In 1944, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation comes to power in Saskatchewan, under Tommy Douglas, the first socialist government in North America. With the formation of the Canadian Labour Congress in 1956, CCF and CLC energies are directed toward the formation of the New Democratic Party in 1961. Part 3 of the series.
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The Megaphone ReelSerge Giguère 1999 52 minThis musical documentary by Serge Giguère focuses on Gilles Garand, a passionate promoter of Quebec’s heritage and an ardent champion of workers’ rights. Garand is a lively figure—a harmonica and accordion player, a CNTU servicing representative, and an organizer of La Grande Rencontre. Filmed in Montreal, Quebec City, and France, the film offers a rare opportunity to hear the masters of Quebec traditional music, Aldor Morin and Philippe Bruneau, who are featured at La Grande Rencontre. In French with English subtitles.
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No Time to StopHelene Klodawsky 1990 29 minKwai Fong Lai is from Hong Kong, Alberta Onyejekwe from Ghana, and Angela Williams from Jamaica. They are immigrants to Canada, visible minorities, and women, a combination designed to make their lives difficult. While Canadian society has yet to accustom itself to its immigrant reality, these strong and resilient women manage to adapt and survive. At home and at work, they speak candidly about the conditions that shape their lives.
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The Research DirectorRonald Weyman 1954 18 minA description of the work of a research director of a United Steel Workers Union in Canada. The painstaking research and analyses of economic information, and the arrangement of arguments that lie beneath the negotiations of labour unions for better wages and working conditions are shown.
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The Structure of UnionsMorten Parker 1955 11 minThis animated film examines the organization of labour unions today. While the narrator in all seriousness outlines the structure of a union and the larger bodies to which it is affiliated, the animator ad libs his own views with gay abandon. Examples are given to illustrate the functioning of a union at its various levels, from union local to national body to labour congress.
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A Time to RiseAnand Patwardhan & Jim Monro 1982 39 minOn April 6, 1980, the Canadian Farmworkers Union came into existence. This film documents the conditions among Chinese and East Indian immigrant workers in British Columbia that provoked the formation of the union, and the response of growers and labour contractors to the threat of unionization. Made over a period of two years, the film is eloquent testimony to the progress of the workers' movement from the first stirrings of militancy to the energetic canvassing of union members.
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"They Didn't Starve Us Out": Industrial Cape Breton in the 1920sPatricia Kipping 1991 21 minFor 200 years, coal mining had been a way of life in Cape Breton. By 1920 things were looking up: miners were unionized and paid decent wages. Then the British Empire Steel Corporation arrived and bought every single steel and coal company in Nova Scotia. BESCO cut wages by a third, setting off a bitter labour dispute. The miners settled in for a long strike. Finally, in 1925, the military ended the unrest with brute force. But the miners, in one sense, had won. They broke up the monopoly and provided an example to workers across the country.
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WAL-TOWN The FilmSergeo Kirby 2006 1 h 6 minIn this feature documentary, 6 student activists visit 36 Canadian towns to take on one giant corporation. Filmed over 2 summers, these young crusaders (plus a gonzo journalist) try to raise public awareness about Wal-Mart's business practices and their effect on cities and towns across Canada. With youthful passion and often hilarious cultural jams, this film takes us to the frontlines of the ongoing debate over the company's increasing dominance in the Canadian retail market.
