Norma Rae - Keira J

Belief in the government to ensure the success of labor unions should be well-placed, but in reality—or in the reality of the US—it is not well-placed. Especially with our current Senate, the US government is not pro-labor. With such division in US politics it is hard to pass any legislation, much less pro-labor or pro-union laws. We are unable to rely on the government to fight poverty or protect the labor force as the article “Poor People are Gonna Rise Up” describes, saying how “during the past forty years, the share of earnings for the nation’s top 1 percent has doubled, while the wages for 90 percent of workers have barely kept up with inflation”. There is obviously a huge division between the social classes, but the government has not prioritized regulating business to protect labor, which leaves it to the labor force to stand up for their rights. This is shown in the film “Norma Rae”, where the town initially didn’t support the union, the church didn’t support the union, the law enforcement didn’t support the union, and nor did the management of the fabric factory—the workers had to stand up for themselves. In the film, it was very much the union versus everyone, which is my current impression of unions—it is unions vs everything in society, even the government. The idea that workers have to stand up for themselves because the government can’t be relied upon to protect them is reinforced in the “A New Era for the American Worker” article. The article says now is the time for American workers to advocate for more rights—meaning that it’s common knowledge that it’s up to the labor force to form unions for themselves, and that the government can’t be depended on to pass protective labor laws.  



Comments

  1. David BernellFebruary 22, 2023 at 7:46 PM

    There is a common theme among many of the posts on Norma Rae that says workers will not be likely to get help, support, protections, or better wages and conditions from US government action. Government sides with labor, and workers have to take care of themselves.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Milk - Emma G.

Image
In 2021, it was estimated that roughly 20 million Americans--roughly 8% of the adult population--were part of the LGBTQ+ community. Even more Americans reported attraction to the same sex, but were unable to give themselves a label that categorized them into the 8%. The number of Americans identifyng as part of the LGBTQ+ community has increased over the years, with a huge increase shown after the legalization of the gay marriage within the United States. In the 1970s, even some of America's communities full of LGBTQ+ activism struggled to flourish against the homophobic values within the United States. In the film Milk , Harvey Milk, an openly gay man in Castro, runs for public office. His campaign and election is met with criticism from the homophobic opposition. While campaigning, Milk famously states, " On the Statue of Liberty it says, 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free.' In the Declaration of Independence, it is written, '
Read more

Milk

Image
 Maddie Dieringer  During class we discussed how acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals has changed quickly compared to other public opinions throughout history. This makes sense with my understanding of history, but I feel as though there has been an increase in the number of laws taking rights away from LGBTQ+ individuals, especially people who are transgender. I did a few quick google searches and found that there were 17 anti-LGBTQ laws passed in 2021 which was the worst year for LGBTQ rights since 2015. It seems that with more awareness and progress there is even more legislative push back to create laws that harm LGBTQ people than before. According to the American Civil Liberties Union there are 389 anti-LGBTQ bills being introduced across the US having to do with health care, education, civil rights, free speech and more. Linked below is the ACLU page that is kept up to date.  In the film Milk we see some of the adversity gay individuals faced during the 70s, and it's easy to see
Read more

Reservation Dogs

Image
 In connection to the other films, I thought this show represented a lot of unity and togetherness within the characters. The group had to all stay together to progress and questions of leaving versus staying to help the community also came up, specifically for Bear. I thought it was really important that the entire cast and anyone who helped create the film were Native American or Indigenous because of the lack of opportunities they often have and the educational aspect behind it. Growing up and going to school during the years of K-8, kids don't normally learn about Native American culture or history. If you're lucky to learn about them while in school, it is usually pretty vague. I don't remember learning about the history that much, but I do remember a period where we discussed the culture and why some things are important that may not be to ourselves. I think that community gets left behind and forgotten a lot and people are uncomfortable discussing that. The most prom
Read more