♪ We are miners ♪ ♪ Hard rock miners ♪ ♪ To the shaft house we must go ♪ ♪ Our bottles on our shoulders ♪ ♪ We are marching to the slope ♪ ♪ Can't you feel the
rock dust in your lungs ♪ ♪ It will cut down a miner
when he is still young ♪ ♪ Two years and the silicosis takes hold ♪ ♪ And I feel like I'm dying ♪ ♪ From mining for gold ♪ ♪ Yes, I feel like I'm dying ♪ ♪ From mining for gold ♪ - Ruby, come on in here.
- How ya doin' Aunt Melva? - I can't even spit,
my bones are so tired. - It's backbreaking. So what'll it be this morning? Deuteronomy or the swap meet? - What do you feel like? - I ain't doin' this for my health. - Well I have been lookin' for
a deal on a toaster. - All righty. Let's see here. Here's a chicken coop for sale. $25 dollars. Is that with or without chickens I wonder? - I ain't got room for no more chickens. - A four-poster bed with only
one post, okay shape, $40. - Now, there's a deal for you and Silas. Ain't your 10 years comin' up? - I don't have room for
other post in my bedroom. One's more 'n enough. - Oh Lord. What would I do without you, Ruby? - Uh, dance a jig on the table, die of sheer boredom I suppose. - Let me see my boy! Dewey! - Anybody else hurt? My husband's workin' down there. Silas Kincaid. My daddy's Tug Jones, he's number 105. - Hey, Ruby! - I need to talk to Silas. - What you want? - We'll take it easy on you tomorrow. Give you outside jobs. 'Cause you are one of our best. - Gilly I'm pretty god damn shook up. - Don't wanna lose no time buddy. You need to show folks it's
best is to climb right back on. Don't let no fear demons get
in the way of doing a good job. You all have a good night now. - Please, help me! - Silas. Silas. It's okay. - Hey Kincaid.
- Hey. - Hey you're on company property. I wanna talk to you. You hear about a UMWA mine worker tryin' to organize 'round here? - Yeah I heard it. Mining ain't took all my hearin' yet. - Well then I'll speak plainly. We hear you've been handin'
out union cards on your shift. - Yes sir. I got some ri'cheer in my bucket. Want one? Here, one for Dyllan. - You know, just because
we told you we needed you doesn't mean you can do
whatever the fuck you want. - Look-it, I come back
to work the day after I nearly got killed. All right, I watched that boy Dewey die. - Keep it up and you
don't work here no more. - Ranger troops today surrounded the Macon Delta,
the stronghold of the Vietcong. Casualties--
- Buddy eat your supper. You mind me. You wanna be a pencil neck all your life? Come on. - Silas. You spare some fatback? - Right in there. - I'm gonna buy that compressor. I can sand blast, I can spray paint. I can do body work on the side. - What you think you're gonna buy it with? I give ya a side job
- Thanks Ruby. Bye-bye. Fix the hot plate. It cooled on me again. You okay, Daddy? - Come on to bed, Ruby. Ruby come on. Don't that machine drive you crazy? - Nothin' ever bothers me. Hey, try this on. Come on now, you're about
the Darnell boy's size. You are a sorry lookin' man in a uniform. - That union organizer's
fixin' to come down here. He'll be here in a couple of days. - We could move to Detroit any time and you could work in a
factory, Silas Kincaid. - No, I thought we agreed to drop that? Besides I get homesick for
misery, muddy water and low coal. You wouldn't like city life neither. - I can walk down to the
store 10 o'clock at night and buy me a beer and read a
movie magazine if I wanted to. - And that's your idea of high living? - Mm-hmm. - You can get on down to the
KMart get yourself a 17 cent hot fudge sundae. Come on. - Lookin' at your X-rays, my examination, my best advice is that
you should quit mining. You don't need me to tell you, you have shortness of breath. You wake up at night with
difficulty breathing. These are all symptoms of
second stage black lung. I've seen 15 miners this month with the exact same condition. If you keep working pneumonoconiosis will progress more rapidly. You have the right to
work in a dust-free area without loss of pay. - How long will it take
to get my disability? - I'm not a lawyer, Tug. I can refer you to a professional. Sometimes initial consultation - Just tell me how long, Doc. - A year. Two years maybe. During which time you wouldn't
be able to work of course. - I can't afford that. Not if my lungs is black,
pink, or polka dot. - Meeting tonight, discuss a contract and the tragedy that happened last week. Come to the union meeting. - Meeting tonight. Discuss a contract.
- Thank you. - There's a meeting tonight. Discuss a contract. - 'Bout time you got here, Bud. - I'm Warren Jakopovich. Organizer for the UMWA. Yes sir, UMWA's back in Harlan. - I'm Tug Jones. This is my boy Floyd. - Good to meet ya.
- Son-in-law Silas Kincaid. He's been tryin' to organize Brookside. - Very good, good to see ya. - You got you a place to stay? - Yeah I'm at the motel. Thank you very much. Escort this gentleman off our property. - Who are you, sir?
- Nelms Hatton. Mine foreman. - You're on company property, mister, and this ain't no communist property. You better get on outta here. - Don't let 'em intimidate you. See you men tonight. - Why don't you take
your hands off of 'em? - Well let's see here. Silas made a $147 this week. His wages is droppin'. You keepin' him awake all night, Ruby? - Wouldn't you like to know all about it. - Nothin' to put down? - Let's see Buddy got doctored. It took all our money. Silas told me he worked
six hours overtime. - Huh. Where? It ain't here on his card. And they had to shut down for half a day when them fellas died. Lost a little time there. You got rent, electric, groceries. Y'all oughta catch up some. - You just see about that overtime. - Afternoon, ma'am. I'm from the UMWA. - My daddy and my husband's off over there workin' their shift now. - Well you got a minute? I'm not doing my job unless I speak to at least one new person a day. Mrs?
- Kincaid. - Any chance of you getting involved in the union yourself, Mrs. Kincaid? - I'm sure not in no hurry to. - What are you, dizzy? - Last union rep we had over around here his name was Clarence. And he used to sit his fancy
suited rear on the courthouse steps with his gold plated
watch and diamond ring. - Yup, that was a corrupt crowd. - Corrupt's a nice word for him. He took payments up in the mountains to keep the unions off the mines. - Well we kicked that crowd out. The union is now run by--
- They took our hospital card just when my mama got sick. Now my daddy's got the black lung. See, you're not alone. We can help with that. It's political. We gotta deal with what's
going on at Brookside. - They voted the union
in and now you're gonna take the money and skedaddle. - Well it seems to me like you're talkin' the
company line, ma'am. - You watch what you say. I hate that company. But you can't never change
the way things is done here. - So you're just gonna sit around, let the company do what they want? - Sit around? - It's a shame about them two boys. There ain't much you can say. 'Cept they're with the Lord. Or it was their hour. You're worried about
this here union, Ruby? - Nah, I ain't worried. - Everybody knows you either
work for their companies or you don't work. I sure hope they don't go out on strike. - You think the dang
union's gonna keep you alive. - I'd have hell
a lot of better odds-- - I'd get a ton
of rock over treaty. - I get a ton of rock on my chest. You wouldn't get nothin'. But with the union, you'd get a pension 'til you met the next damn fool. - How much is the pension if you die? - It's $3,000 plus medical. - Huh, might be worth it. But if you didn't die
and just got mashed up, how much would I get
for havin' to keep your oxygen tank turned on? - Why're you so damn bothered, woman? - Nothin' never bothers me. - Will this union meeting come to order? This meeting needs to come to order. Y'all need to shut up so we can start! Damn! - Can I have your attention, please? My name is Warren Jakopovich. I'm an organizer for the
United Mine Workers of America. The company's made it clear they're not willing to
negotiate for a contract. As a starting place, I'd like
to put a motion on the floor to call a strike, to
force them to negotiate. Aren't we going to discuss this first? Thought this was a democratic union. - It is. Shut up and sit down Floyd. - What's your name and your job? - Floyd Jones, roof bolter. If we go out on strike
and we lose our houses, trucks, we're gonna lose everything. They got all the money
in the world to fight us. - Floyd, why don't you shut
up and let the man speak. - Somebody tries to steal
food from my kid's mouth, I'd kill 'em. - My boy's got a right to speak! - Calm down.
- I'm all right, all right. - Keep them mitts to yourself. You all right, son?
- Yeah, it's nothin'. - Is this the way you normally conduct union business in Harlan? From now on, it's gonna change. Save your anger to fight the company. Everybody, could you move
a little closer please? I don't wanna shout. Let's talk about that roof fall and those two fellow workers who died. - I told the boss, man,
that the top was bad. He said it'd been inspected. Inspected my ass. It's so bad even the rats stay away. - Damn right. - They knew it weren't safe. And there's something building
down there all day long. I told 'em we oughta shut it down and see if it ain't broke up there. And that 13-karat asshole Leroy Gilly told me I
better shut my mouth, get back to work or get
my bucket and get on home. - It ain't right them men died. There weren't enough roof
bolts to hold up that roof. - They don't give a damn about us. As long as they got coal comin'
fast out of that mountain. - That's right. - They're sayin' now it's
Mother Nature caused that fall. It's money what done it. - With the union you'll
have a safety committee. You'll have say when it's unsafe. And you'll have to say when to
shut it down to make it safe. - Yeah, that's when you get drunken miners shuttin' everything down
'cause they're hung over or in a bad mood that day. - You shut it down you don't get paid, so you'd better have a damn good reason. Safety, decent wage, job security. Portal to portal pay. It's good that you're used to hard work because this won't be easy. You're 180 men against the sixth largest utility company in this country. Alfred Ramsay the president of Duke Power reported 90 million in profits last year. Did they pass any of this
vast wealth down to you? Do they even pay taxes
here in Eastern Kentucky so you can have decent
schools for your kids? Hell no. They'd rather kill you than do it right. And they sure as hell don't
want a union down here looking out for your interests. They've got a leg up here in Harlan. They've been bustin' the
union since the '30s. - How're we gonna beat Duke Power? I mean let's be realistic. We strike, Pennington'll blackball asses, hire scabs throw us in jail. They got the courts, police, newspapers. Thing's bad now, it could be a lot worse. He's paid to be a rabble rouser. - That's right, I am a rabble rouser. I'm here to fight the
status quo that I think everyone agrees stinks. Now the UMWA will be backing you men up with strike checks every week as long as you pull picket duty. A 100 week per family. - For how long? - As long as it takes. - Now I think we all need
to pull together now, you know, trust each other.
- That's right. - You have to trust each other. Trust each other like you
have to down in the mine. - Don't quit 'til every ton of coal that come out that ground is union coal. - That's right. - The union ain't gonna
sell us down the river like they done before? - 'Cause this is a different union. This is the first true rank
and file union in this country. And what matters is not what happens in Washington, DC but out here. You men, you don't have
to work under any contract that you don't vote on and ratify. - Well who's gonna be here
to fight alongside of us? - Me. - Who the hell are you? I'm a third generation miner. My father and grandfather
worked in the deep mines in Poland, and in Coal City, Illinois. And right behind me are 120,000 miners across this country backing
me up, and backing you up! I put a motion on the
floor to call a strike. All in favor say aye. - Aye. - Against?
- Nay. - The ayes carry it. We can start handing out strike benefits as soon as you sign up for picket duty and elect some picket captains. - Y'all! Y'all! We're takin' up a
collection here by the door for Micky Bogg's widow and
Dewey Pillion's kin, all right? By the door on your way out. Want some paper money in here. - Hey Jakopovich, this
here's my brother Kermit. He was four years a miner
before he got mashed up. He run a grocery store now. You got a piece, Jakopovich? - Well, I'm-- - If I was you, I'd
keep my gun in my pocket so everyone can see it. That's the deal. - Okay. ♪ Now when I was a little boy ♪ ♪ I wanted a Barlow knife ♪ ♪ And now am a great big man
I want little Shady Grove ♪ ♪ To say she'll be my wife ♪ ♪ Shady Grove, my little love ♪ ♪ Shady grove my darling ♪ ♪ Shady Grove, my little love ♪ ♪ I'm a-bound to go away ♪ ♪ I wish I had me a piggy and a pen ♪ ♪ And the corn to feed him on ♪ ♪ Little pretty girl to stay at home ♪ ♪ And feed him while I'm gone ♪ ♪ Shady Grove, my little love, ♪ ♪ Shady grove my darling ♪ ♪ Shady Grove, my little love ♪ ♪ I'm a-bound to go away ♪ - Yeah! ♪ I wish I had a glass of wine ♪ ♪ And bread and meat for two ♪ ♪ I'd set it all on a golden plate ♪ ♪ And give it all to you ♪ ♪ Shady Grove, my little love, ♪ ♪ Shady Grove, my darling ♪ ♪ Shady Grove, my little love ♪ ♪ I'm a-bound to go away ♪ Yeah! - Now see here what comes from drinkin'. Anyone could do whatever
they wanted to your daddy and papaw. - Even pee on 'em? - No we can't pee on 'em. Now you go get dressed or else. Daddy, Silas! Time to get up. - Come on out this Monday mornin', support the miners of Brookside
gettin' a union contract. Don't let's go back to the way it was. Let's show the company we're standing here on two feet here in Harlan. Support the miners at Brookside
gettin' a union contract. - You're Ford or Chevy man? - Chevy. - Here they come! Let's turn 'em back for Mickey and Dewey. - Let's get them out! Get them scabs outta here! - I picked you some mushmelons. - Come on in Ruby. I can't hardly move today. My rheumatism's got such a bad hold of me. - I'll fix you up some
cherry bark tea, Aunt Melva. - So how y'all doin'? - Meaner than a red-headed stepchild. The men are fixin' to stay
out 'til they get theirselves a contract. All the coal operators in
Eastern Kentucky is agin 'em. How are they gonna win? What are we gonna live on? Strike benefits? - I got my man's pension. You could eat here. - Hell, we're family, ain't we? - You won't be sayin'
that when we eat ya out of house and home. Some union organizer come
a-knockin' on my door tryin' to get me involved in the strike. Can you believe that? Oh he looked just like some ol' skunk draggin' hisself across our yard. Snufflin' around in the bushes. We ain't got a chance to win this thing. - With this latest
report, let's go now to-- - Give me my gum!
- Sh-sh, hang on, hang-ho. - Brookside Mining
Company's refusal to honor their request for a union contract. - All right, all right! Baby, we're on the TV! - Round this time of year
your mama'd climb the hollers pickin' wild greens. When time's lean we used to
pick coal off the slagheap carry it home on our backs. Boy, that was a rough sonofabitch. - I know, Daddy. You and Silas are awaitin'
me to come on down to the picket line, only I ain't goin'. I don't want no part of it. - Don't you get it, Ruby? - The union's the good guys. If the union done right by us mama'd be with her
grandkids today, right now. - They was sheep-killin' dogs. And Boyle was a dictator. I spoke out against him, he
took away the hospital card to punish me. Boyle and his henchmen,
they all sittin'in jail. This is a brand new deal. - Maybe. Maybe the new boss will
screw us and treat us bad, win or lose. - You know, we've been
coal miners in this family since way back yonder. Pretty good life. Get a contract, it'll be better. - What's really gonna change, Daddy? - Your mama, she felt like me, she's real strong for the union. - Well I guess I ain't as good as mama. - You're a good girl, Ruby. - Yeah he was there. He was pretty aggressive that first day. - Who's that, Newell?
- Yeah. You should target him. Yeah, that one there, too.
- Right. - I want you to cut 'em off and evict 'em. Hire anybody who'll work. Keep production up. Make these union people see
they haven't got a chance. - Sorry, Ruby, no goods today. - I'm cut off? - That's right. - $3.75 for Aunt Jemima. I'm sure gonna be missin'
me the bargains in here. - Silas is makin' a mistake. He's gonna lose his job. Where're you gonna live? You know I'm gonna have to evict ya. You try it, Udell, so I can use that eviction notice for toilet paper. - Mrs. Kincaid, could you
come here a minute please? You know, if Silas was smart
he'd come on back to work and the rest of the men would follow. - Why would they do that? He ain't no different than the
rest just a poor workin' man. - Tell you what. I'll make him a supervisor at a dollar more an hour. Now that's good money. You tell him, I'll take good care of him. Now I know he cares about
you and the kids, Ruby. Why is Silas makin' such a foolish choice? - Mr. Pennington, I guess my husband took just about all he could take. That's why God give us tongues. If it don't taste right, spit it out. - I'm real sorry to hear
about his attitude, ma'am. You can give your husband this. - This is the first time I can remember the belts is stopped. - Thought you wasn't gonna come down here. - I just come on over to deliver this. - Set awhile, Ruby. - I'm too mad to set. - What you mad for? - Company's threatenin' to push us off this hill and they cut
us off at the store. - They cut us off? - Go on down to Boxley's place. He'll give you credit. - So what's this? - First, Pennington offered
you a suck job and a raise. - And what'd you tell him? - I told him we weren't for sale. And this here says you're fired. - Union ain't gonna let him get
away with that kind of deal. - Where's all the shootin'? - Well, it's right over there. - Well show 'em your pearlies. - We are preparing, in a nonviolent, peaceful manner, to get jobs back. - Y'all work here?
- Yeah. - Or used to.
- Well, yeah, we used to. - Lucy! - What we gonna do this summer, mama? Can we go down the pickle line? - The pickle line? I'm gonna pickle you and eat you alive. Come on, let's go see Aunt Melva. See who gets there first.
- Okay. - You still got them hogs?
- Yeah. - Where you keep 'em penned at? - In a holler a little
further up the creek. My hogs, when they root,
they're rootin' for the UMWA. - Here they come, come on boys. - Let's turn these scabs around! - All right,
you folks step aside now. Let these boys through. - Back 'em up, back 'em up. Get on outta here. - Get on back there! Move on! Go! - Gilly's in there! Let's get him! - Get the hell away from my truck. The next man touches it,
I'm gonna hammer back on. - Well you ain't gonna hammer
on me you scab son of a bitch. - Fuck you, I ain't no scab. - You transportin' scabs
that makes you a scab, Gilly. Now, come on out that truck. - You better back off. Son of a bitch. - No storm trooper's gonna bulldog me! - That's my daddy! That is my daddy! You leave him alone! - Son of a bitch. - Let's send these scabs home! - You are enjoined from carrying weapons, obstructing the entrance or
exit to the Brookside property trespassing and harassin', assaulting, cursing or
otherwise threatening violence. Subject to the above restraints, you may not have more than three men at the Brookside entrance. These men shall be sober,
good behavior and mind. - Come on now, don't you
think you got yourself a little conflict of
interest here, Judge Harris? - I mean, I worked for your coal mine. And this here is obviously
coal operated justice. You know it. - Sir, if you're all gonna be
crackin' my people in the head I'm gonna by God carry my gun. And in the State of Kentucky
it is my right to carry a gun in my pocket if I want to.
- Not on the picket line. Silence in the court. If I see any of you in
violation of this court order you're going to jail with a stiff fine. Court's adjourned. - Papaw, aren't you afraid of goin' back to that picket line? - I ain't scared of nothin' Lucinda. - What if they shoot you dead? - Well, they can kill you but they can't eat you. - You know, next time it's not gonna be a little misdemeanor charge
for disturbing the peace, it's gonna be a full-on felony. - The law's handed down for
the rich ones with money, not for workin' men. Now us ol' heads remember
when the state patrols, the National Guard and company gun thugs come up here in the '30s. We won our battle then, we'll win it now. - I'm gonna violate the injunction. - Injunction were made to be violated. Isn't that right Mr. Organizer? - Well, everybody knows
you can't win a strike if you can't shut the mine down. Three men on the picket line
isn't gonna stop anything. - Hey, Warren, I'd like
you to meet my wife. This is Ruby. Warren Jakopovich. - It must be hard sittin' on the sidelines watching your men get worked
over by the company, huh? - I didn't see you in
there tradin' swings. - Nope, I can't get busted hittin' a cop or doin' anything illegal. - What makes you so special? - They'll go after the union treasury for millions when the strike's over. - Huh. Just for bustin' the law in the head? - Yep, just for bustin'
the law in the head. ♪ Guide my feet ♪ ♪ While I run this race ♪ ♪ Guide my feet ♪ - Scurvy dog! ♪ While I run this race ♪ ♪ Guide my feet ♪ ♪ While I run this race ♪ ♪ For I don't want to run this race ♪ ♪ In vain ♪ - Do the dishes and put kids to bed? You told him just like that? - Just like that. Dillard'd drop his
dentures if I said that. I'm just borrowin' some
pinto beans from you, right? - Right, right, right, right.
- Now what? - I don't know. - You know I think I better go. - I can't do this by myself. Are you with me or not, Mary? - I've never done anything
like this before, okay? - Me neither. - You know what we look
like standing here? - Andrew Sisters?
- A pair of damn floozies. - Speak for yourself. - Okay, look, if Dillard
saw me here I'm goin'. - Go on, I'll do it myself.
- Okay, all right. - Mary.
- No, no, no, no. - I can't do it on my own, Mary. - Hi, Ruby. Mary isn't it? What can I do for you? - You can open up the door to
your motel room for starters. - Part of an organizer's job is to accept a certain amount of disorganization. - We don't give a darn about your mess. You can't win this strike with
three men on the picket line. Did you not say that
at the birthday party? - That's right. - But that injunction
don't say nothin' about us. - Who? - Us, Brookside women. On the picket line. We ain't union members. - Women on the picket line?
- Yeah. There're not never been just
women on the picket line. - That's a great idea. Every coal miner's wife, daughter. - We'll organize. Got to speak out. - Lord, they'll throw you
in jail if you speak out. - Can you rent us a hall for
tomorrow night, Jakopovich? - Sure. - And don't you go sayin'
you thought this up you li'l ol' self, you hear? Well, I hope there's
enough seats for everybody. We don't have too many of us here tonight. And you know what? I can understand that because last union people
who come through here was a corrupt bunch. But now they're a-settin' in jail. This here is a whole new deal. And if each of you pairs up and goes and brings
another to the picket line, all of us women, we could win this strike. Now I know we've never done
nothin' like this before. It's always been men on the picket line. With us standin' by. But now we can stand instead of 'em. Heck, I mean, we could
make up our own club. We've just not never done
nothin' like this before. I ain't personally sayin' the
union's a direct gift from God but I watched the company
force my husband back to work the day after he buried in that rock pile. I watched the gun thugs spit on my daddy. I watched state troopers
beat him up, beat my daddy. I watched scabs take my men's jobs. They've been treatin' us like this ever since I was a little girl. I'm sick to death of being pushed around. But I'm not gonna stand for it no more. You kick an ol' dog long enough, he might turn around and bite ya. - I come up from Knoxville
'cause Ruby called me. I knew her mama. We went through the strikes
together in the '30s when this place was
known as Bloody Harlan. I stood by my husband on
the picket line every day. I got so mad what the big companies and the gun thugs done. I took an ol' song and I
put some new words to it. ♪ This little light of mine ♪ ♪ I'm gonna let it shine ♪ ♪ This little light of mine ♪ ♪ I'm gonna let it shine ♪ ♪ Down in Harlan County ♪ ♪ You don't cross that line ♪ ♪ Take your sign up
and make up your mind ♪ ♪ This little light of mine ♪ ♪ I'm gonna let it shine ♪ ♪ This little light of mine ♪ ♪ I'm gonna let it shine ♪ ♪ Down in Harlan County ♪ ♪ You don't cross that line ♪ ♪ Take your sign up
and make up your mind ♪ ♪ This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine ♪ - What business do you have here? - Well we're president and vice president of the Brookside Women's Club. - What're your names? - Martha Washington and Betsy Ross. That's right. Let's stop these scabs! - Ruby!
- Come on girls. - Ruby!
- Lay down! - Hold on now. - Ruby, you can't do that. What're you doin'? - Anybody need help? - I'm down already. - Here, just lay down. - You know what to do. - Hey, Auntie Sue, you all right? - Fine.
- Let 'em play their game. - Right on her little
rear, that'll be good. - All right, let's go. They'll get tired of it. - They're going, Ruby. - They're going! - Turn around boys. - What the hell is this? - Fried hog brains. - You're kidding? - Ain't you never had none? - That's the worst thing
I've tasted in my life. - I made it myself, Jakopovich. It's a delicacy in these hills. We prize it here. - You made it? - So you're sayin' we must be
idgits for likin' it so much? - I gotta have a beer. - It's a dry county, Jakopovich. Here. - I can't see. - Whoa, buddy. Whoa, buddy. Come on up here. Come on up, none of that now. All right. - What is this? That moonshine made me blind. - Nobody told you to drink so much. - I can't believe you went
and put yourself on TV, Ruby. - What, don't ya think I look good? - And the union are scheduled to meet with a federal mediator in
Washington later this week. Mine President Claude
Pennington spoke to reporters at press conference. - Sir, is it
true Brookside miners live in homes with no indoor plumbing? - That is true. There is no indoor plumbing
in our miners' houses. But, we have plans to
upgrade our people and-- - He really and truly thinks he owns us. - Happy anniversary. Hi. I made y'all a double ring
quilt for your 10 years. - That's real nice you did that, Mary, but today ain't our anniversary. - No? - It ain't but for two weeks, right? - It's the thought that counts. - All right.
- Hi, Floyd. - Let's have us a drink. - It's Sunday, Tug.
- Yes, sir. - Well, here's to Sunday. - Go on, Jakopovich, you want one? Go on, have some.
- Oh no, no, no, no. No, thank you No, I'll stick to water from now on. - You don't wanna drink this here water. You strain it and that
black stuff comes out. There's sulfur in it, it will slay you. I get you some RC cola.
- Thank you. - I would like a drink
of moonshine very well. - Here ya are.
- Thank you. - I wouldn't mind a drink.
- Thank you. - Well here's to 10 years, just about. - Yeah, and here's to
the next 10 years bein' an improvement on the first 10. Yes, sir. - Hey Daddy, can I go down
to the picket line tomorrow? - No. - But you're gonna be there, mama. - Well, I don't see why you and Lucinda can't come on down and
walk alongside your mama. - Here's to winnin' the strike. - To winning. - To winnin'.
- To winnin'. - I'm okay.
- Virginia, how ya doin'? - Hi Ruby. - You people need to
clear this roadway now or you'll be arrested for
violatin' an injunction. Inciting to riot. We're havin' a peaceful picket line. - Better get those kids outta here. - No we ain't movin'. You're violatin' our constitutional
rights to free assembly. - Yeah!
- I got a mine to run. I got men that wanna go to work! - Ain't no work here for scabs. - Come on, now. - Let's go, ma'am. - Stay right here with me. Stay right here. Stay right here with me. Are you enjoyin' yourselves today? Come on right here. Come on in close, next to my legs. - Floyd, get outta there. I said get down from there! Come out of that truck,
ya scabbin' turncoat. - Daddy, what'd the union
ever do 'cept starve us and break your heart? - You done that on your
own this time, Floyd. Now come on!
- No I ain't! - I'm tryin' to protect
my family best I can. The Lord said, thou shalt earn thy bread by the sweat of thy brow. Now get off me. - You ain't no son of mine! You ain't no son of mine! - It's no use talkin' to him. - I got milks for the kids. Is everyone okay?
- We ain't afraid. - Okay Ruby?
- Yeah. Other than the fact I ain't never seen the inside of a jail before. I'm a sittin' in one with my younguns and that Judge Doyle Harris
done give me a $500 fine. - Well hang loose,
we'll get you out of here. Is Silas coming down? - If he ain't went somewhere. - This is great. We're gonna take some pictures
put them in every newspaper across the country. Take some pictures of you and your kids. - What for? - It's for publicity. It's good publicity, Ruby. - I got my kids here. - Well, to take pictures of
you and your kids in jail is the point, Ruby. Okay? Go ahead. Come on. I can't be babysittin'
these younguns all day. - They're your own kids, Dillard. I mean, you never get to
see 'em when you're workin'. - You're supposed to be home, Mary. - I'm here supportin' you. - It won't kill ya, Dillard. - Mrs. Gaw, can
these younguns go on in? - Children is free to visit
their parents any time. - Go on to your mama. - I have a temporary custody
order to provide supervision for these children. - No damn social worker's
gonna get 'hold of my kids. - Ma'am, look around you. Is this a suitable
environment for children? - Well, it's got indoor plumbing here. - I cannot permit them to stay in jail. - I dare you to lay a hand on 'em. - Who do these children belong to? You're going to turn these children over to the State Department
of Public Welfare. - The parents is the
prisoners, not the children. - I don't like to cuss in front of kids, but you better god damn back off. - Buddy, come on, we're
gettin' home, come on. - The kids'll get out once I do. - If you minded me about goin' down there, they wouldn't be sitting here. - They stay with me.
- Come on, come on. - Silas, we have a
lawyer coming down here. - You back off. - I want the rest of
these children outta here. If I hear of this again, they are all going into foster homes. - I swore that boy would
never see the inside of a jailhouse, nNow you
done made a liar out of me! Come on, we'll take the Ball kids too. Come on Junior, Junior, come on! Come on. Come on. - How you girls doin'? - Good.
- Want a sandwich, Ruby? - Yes, put it on my leg. - Don't you worry now. We'll settle this thing any day. They got to sign on that dotted line. - It's lookin' kinda scarce
out here today, Ruby. - We need to go knockin' on doors. Some people they could
just roll out of bed, they'd be on the picket line. And they're in there sleepin' right now. And here you come all the
way off Black Mountain. - Well, you gotta believe in somethin' to be out here at 5 in the
morning like this, I guess. - How is he? - He's smotherin' pretty bad. - I'm goin' on down to
the picket line, daddy. - Your momma would be real proud of you. It's really greened up, ain't it? - Yeah. - I'm gonna take me a little walk up to the hollers a little later. - God give you new lungs while you slept? ♪ Well I'm out on the ocean sailing ♪ ♪ Yeah, I'm out on the ocean sailing ♪ ♪ Lord I'm out on the ocean sailing ♪ ♪ My Lord ♪ ♪ I'm gonna sail till I reach the harbor ♪ ♪ I'm gonna sail till I reach the harbor ♪ ♪ I'm gonna sail till I reach the harbor ♪ ♪ My Lord ♪ - Daddy. - Duke Power's made 90 million in profits and they're paying those
men a buck 89 an hour. No benefits, old men and young men alike. No lunch break. The most dangerous job in America. Now if they work on their
birthday they get $2.80. If they die working on... I know what you're thinkin'. Where's the crowds? Where's the action? I don't think you should run the story. I know it was my dime
but it took you too long to get down here. - All right,
Robert, we're done. Get the van ready. - You know what we need out here? Some of the ol' timers,
pensioners, hundreds of 'em. Hey, James. Hey, Bronce. It's me, Ruby Kincaid. This here's Warren Jakopovich. - Good to meet you, sir. - Bronce Breckenridge. - Warren's from the UMWA. - I'm drawin' a $20 a month union pension. You ain't fixin' to take it away? - No I'm not. Are you aware of the strike at Brookside for the past eight months? - Well, I hear tell about it. - The thing is, we're at a point where it could go either way. - Company has the coal
reserves to wait us out they could even make money off a strike by putting through a rate raise,
or raise the price of coal. - We need your help. - We need people to shut that mine down. - Sorry about your daddy passing away. He's a fine man. - Thank you. - I was raised up with Tug on Kildav Hill. Worked with him in the mines. - When you're down in the mines your life depends on the
men you work with, right? This new union depends for its life on everyone's supportin' it. Men, women, pensioners. Then it's gonna support
miners if they stand together. I'll let you think on it a spell. - What's that hill called? Tunnel Hill. That's where the men
like to hold cock fights, bet, drink, fight. - Such a beautiful place. You ever lived anywhere else? - Never even been nowhere's else. Once I was on the Aggees
women's softball team. We're supposed to play
a team over in Knoxville only roads got washed out in a flood. - You'll see the world some day. - I doubt it. - That's what lights the gas. This carburetor mixes the
gas and the air together, all right? Now our problem is we got
too much gas in there. And I think the problem is that we got a sticky float. See, inside there's like a
little boat inside this here. And the boat, when the gas comes in here, it flips up like this
and it stops off the gas with a little valve. And I believe the valve's stuck so it's gonna - He has rid the world
of the bad ol' giant and all your troubles are over. And she told the truth. Jack and his mother lived
happily from that day on. That's it. Good night Lisa, good night Annie. Oh, no, off to bed. Love you both. - You read to your kids
every night over the phone? - I try to. - I'm so ornery by the end of the night I yell at my kids to get into bed or else. Lisa and Annie is pretty names. How come your wife and
kids aren't here with ya? - It can get pretty rough on a strike sometimes. - They ain't shot up your motel room yet. - No, not yet. - Hey, how's this sound? Brookside Women's Club
needs your support and help. The coal operator Judge
Doyle Harris discrimina, How do you spell discriminates? - Look it up in the dictionary. - You're the educated one. - Well, you're smarter than you think. - I don't need no man to tell me that. I've been raisin' up my kids
on a dog hole miner's wage and they ain't lost no
weight yet in this strike. You gotta be smart to do that. - So look it up. - Oh geez. Don't tell me you're tryin' to learn me. - Duke Power's having a
stockholders' meeting in New York in a couple of weeks. I'm thinking of taking a group of miners there to do some fund raising and to put some pressure on the president. Wanna come? - More learnin' me? - No. Using you. - I'll think it over. What are you two still doin' up? Get in the bed or else! - Quick, she said get in bed. - Well, good night. - Good night. - Ma's coming. - He woke me up, mama. - And you kids,
you stay in that bed. - It is, too. - All right, I'll rip it.
- Me too. - That's better. - Hey, look-it, I ain't a man no more, I'm a damn housekeeper. You don't look the worse for wear for it. - What you doin'? - How do you mean? I'd rather you didn't go
down there no more, Ruby. - Why? - I'd just rather you
didn't go down there. 'Cause it's gonna turn violent, people's gonna get hurt. - When they scare you from comin' down, that's when you lose. - Jakopovich ain't gonna
keep you from gettin' hurt. I want you to stop. - I want you to be proud of me. - Your Lucinda sure is turning out to be real pretty, Ruby. - You seen her picture in the paper? She looked pitiful. - Well everybody in the
country's seen the picture. She supposed to look pitiful, Ruby. - My Tilly hates it when
I'm tryin' to cut her bangs. Just seems like last week she was an angel in the curses pageant, now all she talks about is sassin' me. - Ain't we supposed to be
discussin' Brookside business? - Hey, Ruby. When's that handsome union organizer gonna come over to meet with us? - You think he's handsome? Not my type. - He's better 'n Silas. - You're one to talk
with Dillard's bug eyes. I'll take him anyway. Is he married, Ruby? - Heck yes, with two li'l ol' girls. - Hey, what's Jakopovich's first name? - Warren. - I have to ask Warren if I can ride with him to Lexington on union business. - Mary, you are a hellbound hussy. - Men are just drawn to me, Buella May. I can't help that. - Silas is havin' a hard time with this. He's gettin' restless. - All the men is. - Men hate it when they can't work. - What you think, if I wore
this maybe the state troopers and company won't recognize me, I won't get sent up for
violatin' the injunction. They want that. - Be careful.
- We'll be praying for you. - Come on, Sig. Come on. We better go. - You'll be fine. - Bye, mama.
- Bye, mama. - Mind your daddy. - Bye, bye.
- Good luck! - Thank you.
- Mark McKenna. Staffer for the union. - Ruby Kincaid, coal miner's wife. Silas Kincaid's wife. - Pleasure to meet you. I've been working for the UMWA three years and never met one of the rank and file. You're the closest I've come. - What is it that do you do for the union? - I'm a lawyer. A very lowly one but a romantic. I do research, write briefs. - That's romantic? - Well, in many hearts. I aspire to be one with the worker. But when I talk to miners over the phone they really don't get what a labor struggle's all about. A strike is won or lost
inside the Beltway, not on the picket line. - Don't stoppin' the coal win a strike? - No, it's all about OPEC. Rate challenges, staffers
in the White House, every day petitioning the Labor Department to have a heart attack over
the plight of the miner. Corporate financing boycotts. The rank and file haven't a clue. - It must be real hard gettin' through to those thick-headed ignorant miners, poor dumb crackers. Nine months into a strike can't work, drink moonshine 'til they fall down drunk. - Wow. Moonshine, they really drink that? - Oh yeah. Lord. Fight each other over nothin'. Turn their hatred against their selves. Didn't you just call
me some rank and file? You know, tell me somethin' Mister, when you write them romantic briefs, you got a candle goin'
in your bedroom, what? You got a flower tucked behind one ear? - Well, no. Forgive me. I only meant I was looking for solidarity. - I'm looking for somethin'
that'll stick to my ribs 'cause my ribs stick as far out, you can hang a coat on 'em. - Ruby, I don't understand
why you're doing this. - When he said the
strike's all about lawyers and courts and OPEC and not about us and pickets don't matter anyways. - McKenna said that? So you're gonna let him treat you the way the system has
treated you all your life? He tells you're useless and
now you're gonna be useless? - It's got nothin' to do with that. Give me money for my bus ticket. Like I said, I'm gonna get
my pocketbook and get gone. - What are you so mad for, Ruby? - I don't like being
paraded in front of people for handouts 'cause the
union won't shell out or tied us over. - This union has committed $20,000 a week to keep the miners. - You brung me all the way
up here to tell me that? - You look nice. - Don't make fun of me. - I'm not making fun of you. - We got to smile and
stick our hands out to 'em so they can feel good
about how sorry they feel for us in their big money apartments, eatin' their big money food. - Ruby, didn't you say to
me that you shouldn't judge people for the way they live? You don't know anything
about these people. McKenna happens to be a good lawyer. These are good people. They're tryin' to help us out. - I sure enough need help, 'cause I'm just a ignorant,
funny talkin' hillbilly. Ain't I oughta be ashamed of myself. - You're one of the strongest
people I've ever met! - My name is Alfred Ramsay. I'm President of Duke Power. As requested, I'll open the
meeting with a few remarks on the strike at Brookside
Mine in Eastern Kentucky which is now in its ninth month. The strike has not significantly
impacted our coal reserves. We have at least enough to carry us for the next three years. The chief point of
contention between our side and the United Mine Workers Union is the absence of a no-strike clause. The union insists that
we accept their national contract without any
modification whatsoever. We are firm as well in our resolve not to bend to their will. We'll now entertain questions
from the stockholders. Please limit your remarks to the minutes. Yes, the gentleman in the back? - Mr. Ramsay, I received
in my mail a brochure on the Brookside strike containing some disturbing descriptions
of the coal camp conditions in which these people live. Is this accurate? Can you talk about that? - That brochure is union
propaganda full of lies and distortions. - I'm a stockholder, too. I got a share right here. My daddy was a coal miner for
30 years and was proud of it. He even wanted coal miner
put on his gravestone. See, it was his life. But it really was his death. He died of black lung, Mr. Ramsay. You do everything you can to get out of payin' a miner his disability after he's done and give up his health diggin' your coal. I can't reasonably be expected to know-- - You could have real safety at Brookside so miners don't get killed in roof falls. You could cut down on the dust debris so they don't get black lung. But all you care about's
gettin' that coal out as fast as you can and as cheap as you can and if men, and women and
children suffer, so be it. You don't wanna slow down production. - That is unreasonable and untrue. - You don't wanna slow down production. When us Brookside women got together you called down state troopers
to beat us and arrest us. You hired gun thugs to shoot at us. With a no-strike clause you can do anything you want to us and there would not be a damn thing we could do about it no matter what, no way, no how. We'd just run into the night. - I believe your three minutes are up. - Well, I wanted to speak my piece. And I'm hopin' your stockholders will think it's more important than you do to treat the people who work for ya, who risk their lives
every day, with respect. Maybe they recognize we have the right to live a decent life. Thank you. - They're gonna do this
to all these houses, sooner or later. - I don't care, Mary. It ain't much of a house
at all, what we got here. It's as thin as the skin of a wasp hive. - Am I'm gonna say go and scram. - Back off pal.
- We want no trouble here. - Get on out of here. - Ain't no laws against
havin' a revival here. - I ain't get an injunction
against tourists now. - Get out of here. - Come on, now. - You wanna go get something to eat? ♪ That might be why I run this race ♪ ♪ That might be why I run this race ♪ ♪ 'Cause I don't wanna ♪ - Right there on the window! - The
Brookside Strike continues to grow more violent as 19 men and women-- - How come they
ain't showing the company shootin' guns at us? - 'Cause them TV
news is in with the company. - I'm not at all shocked that a union would sanction lawless behavior. - Come on. Shootin' at us. - And they
have no respect for the law and contempt. - It's gonna happen. - They don't wanna work. - Union's getting the
word, dump Duke stock. Bought full page ads in
the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times. - 'Cause it hurts their pocketbooks. - That's right. Quarterly profits of 22
million to the company. The way to put squeeze on them gentles is to drive down the stock price. That's the language they'll understand. - That's why we
simply don't want union-- - There they come. We stop 'em, we stop 'em cold. You women ready? - Uh-huh.
- Yeah, ready. - Kick the livin' shit out of 'em. You move that god damn car outta the way. Come on boys. Move that goddamn heap,
push it in the ditch. - Tryin' to make
orphans out of our kids, are ya? - Get the hell out of our way. Now y'all go home where you belong. - Watch out, watch
out, let's get out! - Come on guys,
let's get out of here! - Bitches! Easy now! - Come on, let's get out of here. Take it easy! - I'm through. I'm through grubbin'
for a livin' in a hole. We're gonna move to Detroit. You're gonna get your wish. No, wait. Detroit ain't big enough for you. You gotta go to New York. Look what the strike's done, Ruby. You ain't the same woman. - It's you that ain't the same. You was passin' out union cards, tellin' me it's the only way. Now that it's a fight--
- A fight! That's what, no. No, a fight, that's what
you like about this strike is you get a chance to fight. You get to go on down the picket line, raise hell, talk real
mean, raise cain all over. Why you gotta be such
a god damn wild woman? - I'm fightin' for your job the way you used to say you wanted it. Aint it strange how when I come over to your side you bail out? Is that us now? We can't be on the same
side at the same time? - You're cryin' now. I thought you were damn tough? I thought you were so goddamn tough! You think you're god damn tough! You think you're tough?! Go on, say somethin'! You always got somethin' to say! I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Don't hide from me. Baby, sit down. Baby I'm scared. I'm scared I ain't never gonna work again. I'm scared I can't feed the kids. - I'm scared too. I'm scared you're gonna die and I ain't never gonna see you again. I'm scared our kids is gonna
grow up without no hope. - Mmama, you a communist? - Who said that, Buddy? - Teacher. - Communist is just a dirty word to her. She wouldn't know one
if it fell on her head. - Those teachers said they say
they should lower our marks 'cause of what you're doin', mama. - If they do that, I'll talk to 'em. I'll take care of it, you hear? - Mama, don't you hate
that ol' Nelms Hatton? - His daddy was a coal operator. He don't know no better. We're all gonna have to live together after this strike is over, too. But yeah, I hate him. Lucinda! - Down, down, down. Get down, down, down Stay there. Get down. Stay there. Stay down, stay down! - Heard you all got shot up last night. Kids is okay? - Take this, Ruby. You're gonna be needin' it. Come on. - Pretty crazy not to. Come on. - Get outta here, boys. Let's move 'em. No work today. Let's go. ♪ What an awful daw
when the judgment come ♪ ♪ When the judgment come ♪ ♪ And the sinners hear ♪ ♪ Their eternal doom ♪ ♪ At the sad decree ♪ ♪ They'll depart for it ♪ ♪ In the endless woe ♪ ♪ And gloom ♪ ♪ I'm paying now ♪ ♪ The penalty ♪ ♪ That the unredeemed ♪ ♪ Must ever pay ♪ ♪ Though for help I cry ♪ ♪ It's all in vain ♪ ♪ For alas I'm doomed ♪ ♪ For aye ♪ ♪ If I could recall ♪ ♪ All the years now gone ♪ ♪ For my Savior's cause ♪ ♪ I would spend each one ♪ ♪ But they never again ♪ - It's Gilly. Gilly, ya goddamn bastard
scabbin' motherfucker. Let me buy ya a drink. Huh? Here. You damn strike buster scab. Guess he doesn't like my coffee. - That's crazy shit. - Not crazy. He's just a piece of scab
pussin' motherfucker. Perkins, fuck you. - Get the truck! Get the truck! Shit! - Lawrence Perkins died
at 11:30 this evening. At Harlan County Hospital. He left behind a wife, a 6-year-old boy and a baby girl. Leroy Gilly, the man who
shot him, is in custody at an undisclosed location. Now The company has called the union and they're sitting down. They're sitting down right now to talk. You've come a long way,
and we're close to the end. We have to stay calm. - Come here. Come. It's okay. It's okay. Go back to sleep. - I'm scared. I was havin' a bad dream. - Yeah? Go back in that dream and
tell that ol' boogeyman to get on out, you hear? - Ruby, they settled! We got a contract! - Ruby! Baby! We're back. Baby, I'm back to work! - It's been a long haul. There's been grim days. Many of you lost your homes and worse. But we done what we thought was right. They said they'd never sign. But we fought 'em and we whipped 'em. Didn't we?
- Yeah. We're takin' up a collection for Lawrence Perkins' kin. Please give somethin' on your way out. And let's have a moment of silence in the memory of Lawrence Perkins. We got us a new name. We're now Local number 1974. Since we started this
strike in June of 1973. Buddy, here it's July of 1974. We got a few more gray hairs, li'l ol' pot bellies thanks to Alfred Ramsay
and Claude Pennington. But we're gonna get a
chance to work them off. Down in the pits for the next 10 years. Y'all heard every last
detail of this contract. We think it's a good contract. I motion to accept. I second the motion. - All those in favor. - Aye. - Against? Consider this contract accepted. This strike is now over! - All right! Let's hear it for the
Brookside Women's Club! ♪ I wish I had a banjo
string made of golden twine ♪ ♪ The only tune I'd pick on it
is I wish that girl were mine ♪ ♪ Shady Grove, my little love ♪ ♪ Shady Grove, my darling ♪ ♪ Shady Grove, my little love ♪ ♪ Going back to Harlan ♪ ♪ Peaches in the summertime ♪ ♪ Apples in the fall ♪ ♪ If I can't get the boy I love ♪ ♪ I won't have none at all ♪ ♪ Shady Grove, my little love ♪ ♪ Shady Grove, my darling ♪ ♪ Shady Grove, my little love ♪
