I enjoyed Norma Rae, but let's face it.. the movie is out there, alot of people have seen it. It's shown on television.. but seriously, what needs focus isn't hyping for example a film that mythologizes Andy Stern's "Justice for Janitors", that was in actuality a betrayal of the janitorial workers Stern was supposed to represent. He colluded with management to cut wages and rights. In fact Stern assisted management to replace long time workers with illegal aliens who wouldn't demand as much as a US worker. It's the reason Stern has ended the practice of allowing SEIU workers to rise up through the ranks to become union management, and only hires union management from outside the union. He needs to maintain a clampdown and tight control of the reins of power.

If you truly care about average workers, the rights and protections, then please, write about real workers, let their voices be heard at the discussion table, rather than the profiteers like Stern and those who seek to help him exploit labor for their own agenda.

The problem facing the American Worker, is the American worker.

They have let workers rights slip away.

Trade agreements that further diminish the power of leverage, Workers caught up in their own selfish goals, willing to work flex schedules because they receive personal gratification. Not realizing that Companies can beat you out of overtime. American Workers electing politicians, who only give lip service, to the working class.

Why has the working class been so compliant? Complicit? Why have they ignored, those whose main focus is the Labor Class?

Workers, who think that somehow, they can collect enough wages, and invest and become rich. A rarity, but many fools, who'll suffer the pain of pursuit. As familial structures fail, juvenile crime increasing, more police, more jails, more courts, more taxes, more loopholes.

For too long, the politicians have promised and never delivered.

Well at least never delivered to the working class, the Capitalists on the other hand; have done quite well. DUH! They have servants in Congress. How did that happen?

Now, about the time the working class gets it’s act together, supporting those who truly support labor, it’ll be late.

The Capitalist class, realizing the threat of demanding labor, will just find it so convenient, to flood the market with low wage earners, called immigrants. Further breaking the back of the labor movement. Then, if this wasn’t enough, or if it appears that Labor is gaining momentum, the Capitalist will reign in the Fed Reserve, to raise interest rates, because of deficit spending, and increased inflation, the Fed whose focus is Capital,will slow the economy, raising the unemployment rate, thereby; pitting labor against itself, to fight for the crumbs.

Unless the working class unites soon, and votes for it’s own self interest. get used to Slavery.

Nice article Joann. The question you pose is an interesting one. Twenty-five years ago, as a union organizer spending my days with people very much like the ones in "Norma Rae" I used to think that there was drama in these folks' lives that would be appealing to the wider public if it was made available to them through movies or TV.

I think the line of the movie moguls that people don't want to see this stuff is bullshit. It's never offered. People want to see, sometimes, anyway, real life drama. They like to watch cop and lawyer shows. They like to watch the Sopranos. A well-made show about unionized workers in some workplace emphasizing their economic insecurity, their love lives, their various human foibles, their struggles with things like alcoholism, the constant pull between solidarity with their fellow workers vs. selfishly selling them out - would make for compelling drama.

The reason it doesn't get made is because the people who decide such things would simply rather not. And you can't say the reason is that no one would watch - because it's rarely if ever been tried.