Matewan (1987) - The Union

[sucharadder]

From back then to Occupy today.

[noidea63]

Solidarity!!

[greg19670]

Two great actors. James Earl Jones and Chris Cooper.

[FluxRostrum]

I'm in this scene several times (really) can you find me?

[DukatSG1]

Thanks, happy May Day to you all as well, it couldn't be more appropriate that we have a candidate running for governor here in WV that has pledged to fight back and stand up for worker rights, it is very exciting. I'm from KY myself but have strong ties to WV. Here's the campaign commercial Rick Thompson is running right now: youtube.com/watch?v=NjTLl2r51z­U

[WVlandnwater]

@DukatSG1 wheres he from, i support any politician that stands up to protect our land and people from outside exploitation i dont care what political party they are, cause really i hate both of the national parties and both of em do no good for appalachia

[DukatSG1]

@WVlandnwater No political party can ever be 100% perfect because of the demands of different constituencies, but given a choice between one that vocally supports workers and workers rights vs one that trashes them and lies to them and tries to take away their rights, I will choose the first one anyday

[WVlandnwater]

@DukatSG1 in WV we need more property rights, too many landowners have been screwed by companies and the govt., thats why i voted for clark barnes last saturday, because he stood up for landowners

[bensmith3200]

@DukatSG1

No political candidate means any good for working people. If we want to bring change, we need to organize and agitate at the grassroots. We need to protest in the streets and strike on the job.

I don't buy the sociological explanation about "different constituencies." Both the Democrats and the Republicans represent a single constuency: big business.

I believe Marx: "The executive of the modern state is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie."

[DukatSG1]

I understand what you mean though, it can be really frustrating just to get one candidate to actually fight where it counts 

[AMRPK]

happy may day all

[cnmrosko]

America this is an accurate and dramatic depiction of an important part of your history. It's a great movie, watch it. Know your history lest you repeat it .

The so called great men and events of history are often re-written and portrayed falsely. Watch this movie and the truth becomes clear. It's deja vu on steroids all over again.

[WVliberty]

this movie makes me proud to be a West Virginian and Appalachian, people that look to us as backward have no knowledge of our history and what we have done for this country

[DukatSG1]

@WVliberty that is so true, but you know John Sayles' character was an outsider, a union organizer from another state, it just goes to show how workers in solidarity with each other across borders can achieve a lot

[MissHoov]

This is an excellent scene from a powerful movie about the West Virginia coal mine wars. I use this in my AP US History course, and my students find it to be very moving and effective. Thanks for posting this clip.

[DukatSG1]

@MissHoov Thanks for the comment; In light of what is taking place in Wisconsin this movie has even more relevance to today!

[bobbygnosis]

Oh how relevant this is.

But it isn't about workers. It's about humans.

[DukatSG1]

@bobbygnosis good point

[WVlandnwater]

@DukatSG1 my family members that worked in the federal government always said that the union fed. employees were real lazy and basically did little work, a relative of mine that works in a coal power plant said that unions are good for bringing resources together, but im not anti union and unions have done good things for this country but there getting to be like corporations, corrupt union leaders stealing from their workers is no different from ceos stealing frm their workers

[WVlandnwater]

@DukatSG1 i also dont understand why the union leaders support politicians that end up screwing them out of work, union workers should vote on who the union should support politically and not leave it up to the union leaders, i think unions need to work for the good of thier workers and finding them steady work and not being involved in political bullshit, thanks for posting this man i really appreciate it

[dankru]

@WVlandnwater A union that is not political is not doing it's job.

[WVlandnwater]

@dankru my due money shouldnt go to any bullshit politicain that will fuck em out of work, it shouldnt go to any politicains in general and its fucked up that the unions leaders want to tell you who to support in the election, the workers should decide who the union supports if they need to support any at all, LIUNA - CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA, Local 984- forced to join but im going to see if it will do any good for me within the next year

[Alimantado91]

@bobbygnosis I think you'll find this is one of the few films made in the US that not only deals explicitly with class conflict but sides firmly with real historical struggle of organised labour.

[eddystone333]

Great movie that still has a lot to tell modern viewers. The rich continue to get richer and now they're co-opting grassroots movements (i.e. the Tea Party) to ensure that popular sentiment works against the politicians trying to at least even the playing field.

The Tea Party is the GOP now and Republicans will do anything they can to keep Washington in bed with Big Business while the common man starves.

[DukatSG1]

@eddystone333 Couldn't agree with you more. That's why I posted this clip, that I feel it has a lot to teach us still, and I come from a union family. "if you stand alone, you're just so much shit to those people" is a perfect description of the US worker's situation today. Everyone's competing against each other for the few jobs left, getting poorer in general, while the rich are getting even richer, and cementing unprecedented control over the political system (Citizens United decision).

[DukatSG1]

@eddystone333 We've almost come full circle back to the point the miners were at so many decades ago, union membership peaked in the 70's or so and now is abysmally low, and living standards for the average blue collar worker, as well as middle class people, has gone right down with it. There is a pretty close correlation

[praxylite]

the american government is just about to cut taxes to the richest 2 %. meanwhile , in the last 30 years the working man's wage has frozen. What is wrong with you blue collar Americans. This has not happened in any other first world democracy. Don't be hoodwinked by politicians who only look after big business. Obviously it goes without saying that I love this movie. Thank you John Sayles !.

[eljefe357]

Unions don't work anymore...no one pays attention when they go on strike and they are too corrupt. The big companies just ship all their work overseas. There was a time and a place for unions but they're broken now. Look at the auto companies.

[DukatSG1]

@eljefe357 workers didn't sunder GM, company executives did. "legacy" costs -- i.e. pensions people worked for their whole lives, etc -- account for about $2,000 out of every car. I'd rather pay an extra $2000 per car and make $20,000 extra a year and have benefits. That's the kind of world I want to live in, where we pay people fairly for their work even if we have to pay a little more, because in the end we'll all be better off and able to afford it.

[draphaelc]

CE Lively was a snake in the grass.

[Heylilvelvet]

Man i want this movie soooooooo darn bad!! I gotta get my mom or dad to order it D:!!

[mountainjustice]

Great acting, great dialogue, great movie. Thanks for posting. Im referring people to this video to learn more about the history of union organizing in West Virginia.

[actionist2009]

LMAO this would make a GREAT soundboard! someone outta make one and do prank calls. For instance, they could use the black mans voice. U could call a company and he would say - I got business with the union!. and if they asked him what his name is, - THEY CALLS ME FEW CLOTHES LMAO

[loutcb]

this is the WORLD!!!!!!!

[WRLOCK2008]

The higher ups in the United Mine Workers of America need to watch this movie. Maybe it will inspire them a little to be a union again.

[WVliberty]

comes on IFC sometimes

[wesgue223322]

Thanks I was trying to find out where I can watch it

[Frodo2433]

To anyone that has Comcast OnDemand it is on there right now in Encore.

[iglooworkshop]

3:11

[iglooworkshop]

True words.

[SmoothDemocrat]

Thanks you for uploading this ... I included this on the Wiki article I helped write over a year ago ... it's still there ...

[Cleola03]

Where can I find the article. I have to write a paper from a historical point of view. So I wold like to review what you have written on the film.

[AMRPK]

Irish TV showed Matewan AGAIN on 11/10/09. Wasnt sure why until I found out John Sayles is doing a Q & A after showing the movie in Waterford, Ireland for the centenary of the Waterford Council of Trades Unions.

[colinblogs]

I don't know if I'd trust him either because let's face it he was Darth Vadder.

[piasillo]

AWESOME movie!

[Sammaelhain]

Solidarity forever

-Union Steward

ILWU Local 5

[bv468]

I grew up in that are over in Logan County and my grandfather was there when the Union was taking hold. I thought this was a great movie and they really captured the feel of the times.

It's very realistic.

[Larkin1907]

You must be very proud of your grandfather. Men like him fought for the rights we still enjoy.

The Scouse Wobbly.

IWW IU560.

Liverpool.

[JonahTorn]

@Larkin1907 And those who stuck to their purpose fought wisely, and did not seek a physical confrontation. Nothing cause people to go against a union faster that violence, and it makes people ok with violence against unions. Unions must be peaceful and portray that peace so that they are not defamed. Then when they struggle people have an easier time having empathy.

[byan70]

this movie was great to experience the making...my father is in the beginning scene and iM in a church scene...RED DOG FILM PRODUCTIONS

[mckinneyrd]

alabamafilmfestival 9 account with Youtube is closed. He never answered my question.

[mckinneyrd]

"The difference is they were hard and yall aint...Unions like this don't exist anymore."

This was posted by alabamafilmfestival 9 months ago.

What union are you talking about. Who is y'all? Who "ain't hard"? What union do you belong to? What union experience do you have that qualifies you to make the statement, "Unions like this don't exist anymore"?

"Unions like this" do exist. They're made up of the sons and daughters of those who struggled to give the working man a better deal.

[AMRPK]

Irish TV showed Matewan on tuesday night (18th march). First time i saw it in full. Brilliant.

[devil6lock]

is the narrorator danny the little preacher kid in this movie

[kimosabi6180]

yes

[JonahTorn]

@devil6lock Yes.

[Packman0711]

omg few clothes

[ICanPlayElton]

2:51 It's freaking bob kelso

[ICanPlayElton]

Its Ken Jenkins a.k.a Cheif of Medicine Bob Kelso from Scrubs at 2:51. This movie was one of his first acting roles ever.

[alexchmurphy]

amazing scene

[twb2401]

What's a dago?

[corvettedude346]

A highly offensive racial slur for an Italian. Comes from "Diego"

[JonahTorn]

@corvettedude346 This movie makes you feel for people who had prejudices to get over. It also shows that some of that prejudice is really general anger from being pushed down. This is a human movie. It shows people can come to together and that they can improve.

[centervilletn]

great movie ..glad i found this site.

[jbrose40]

My dad is in a local labor union in WV and when the Coca-Cola union went on strike in 2000-2001, his entire union refused to drink Coke products in support of their union.

[alabamafilmfestival]

The difference is they were hard and yall aint...Unions like this don't exist anymore.

[mckinneyrd]

Who's ya'll? You referring to the UAW or the Coal Miners that ain't hard. What union are you in?

[mckinneyrd]

Thank you for posting this. I'm a hillbilly from WV and a union man. My dad was a member of UMWA local 9690 in Southern WV. Anyone who thinks coal miners in the Union are overpaid never seen how hard my dad used to work. Lotsa folks around WV left because of so many mines closing. I relocated to Michigan, and am now in the UAW. This clip should be shown at every union meeting, cause "we're the workers damn it and we take care of each other". Great movie.

[KoroOutbreak]

Good to hear the input of a real union guy on this. I've always loved this movie.

[DukatSG1]

Thanks for your comment! I thought this was one of the most powerful scenes of the movies, because it reminds us how the wealthy and well-connected will play off our prejudices to divide us. If I could recommend one video as a follow-up, in the context of what's going on right now, it would be the AFL-CIO's Richard Trumka on Barack Obama. Search youtube for "AFL-CIO Trumka Obama" and it's the first result.

[JonahTorn]

@Machinist612 This comment does not appear to be spam at all. Are we to believe you were drawing people to a site or blog by mentioning that you teach a union 101 class for a Machinist Union Local Lodge? Like people on the internet are going to travel to your state, become machinists and go to your class because you might show a clip from a movie that if they saw your comment they have already seen. This is not spam! People abuse the ability to flag comments like this and it is wrong.

[1canyonguy]

@mckinneyrd Problem with unions is there aint enough of them!

[Anekantavad]

@mckinneyrd I'm a union officer, and I constantly refer to this film. Incredible what people had to go through just to be treated as humans.

And my people were lumberjacks (the Canadian version of "hillbillies" ... heh heh) and I consider that the best pedigree a man can have.

[donzampa]

"UNION MEN MY ASS !"

Amen brother. We shall overcome......someday......

[AMRPK]

Brilliant a lesson in workers unity in 5 minutes.

[MellowmMood]

There aint but two sides in this world. Them that work, and them that dont. We Work! They Dont! Thats all you got to know about the enemy! Awesome movie. This movie should be seen by everyone

[zekeny]

"Any union keeps this man out ain't a union. It's a GODDAMN CLUB."

Great movie, great speech, fantastic line and delivery.

[SimonHHH]

Ahem to that!

[pumasheen]

thanks for uploading this, DukatSG1. i was going to upload this exact scene from my DVD copy. glad there is a much better version of it available already.

[ColonelCuster]

This is a terrific movie.

Filmed on the actual location.

Everybody did a great job!

[xgreenxcloverx]

Is this clip from the VHS or DVD? I've read some nasty reviews of the DVD saying it's worse than the VHS and that it's an "atrocious" transfer to digital, a "technical travesty" with unbearably poor "hissy" audio. Also, it's allegedly full-screen. But this clip you posted appears to be a pristine wide-screen transfer with a satisfyingly clean audio. Do you know where I can get a copy like this? Video stores near me don't carry Matewan and Amazon seems to have the poor copies. Thanks!

[DukatSG1]

If I remember correctly it was a downloaded copy.

[pumasheen]

yeah, i have the DVD copy and it's terrible. the picture is too dark, it's full rather than widescreen and the audio is sometimes indecipherable. i was wondering where this copy came from as well. if i could get a decent copy of this, it would make a great double-feature with 'the wind that shakes the barley'.

[xgreenxcloverx]

I'm really wondering where this excellent copy came from now. I just downloaded the full film through Slsk and it's the same poor-quality DVD version; dark, full-screen, hissy mono audio, etc. This YouTube'd clip shows there's a hi-quality version out there somewhere, but where!?

[cruptbside]

that C. Cooper speech is so cool, I've used it for audition piece.

[Draftglass]

Damn good movie. I wish we would all stick together on labor issues

[chufuss]

Great Movie...

[Timmyg713]

they calls me FEW CLOTHES!!!!! CHYEAAAAAAAAAAA

[wvben]

Wasn't that guy in the glasses in a Star Trek:TNG episode?

[DukatSG1]

Yes, he was. He played Captain Benjamin Maxwell in the TNG Season 4 episode "The Wounded." Maxwell lost his wife and children in a Cardassian raid during the war and went on in that episode to commit a massacre because he knew "those people" (the Cardassians) were up to no good. His anger had become "like old leather," and he couldn't remember feeling any other way.

[searchin4thesound]

Boy you can't see the forrest for the tree's. The multinational oil companies are part of the problem yes. They're slave drivers. But you have to ask yourself who do they answer to, and where do they get their slaves? There-in you'll discover who the slave owners are, and who the slave traders are. Got to myspace (dot) com / searching_for_the_sound and read my blog "What is a redneck?"

[DukatSG1]

I'm really tired of the NWO conspiracy bullshit. Please take your Ron Paul spam elsewhere, he DROPPED OUT of the Presidential race!

[40AcreMule]

We're all like miners, now. Slaves to the big oil companies. Way past time we went on strike.

[fiddler317]

we need to fight again. the miners who fought in the mine wars were heroes.

[JonahTorn]

@fiddler317 They also struggled not to fight, and not to give the company an excuse to defame the union members as violent trouble makers. Unions unite to accomplish things for workers, peace is a wonderful tool when to keep people on the side of your struggle. To peacefully seek what is fair creates empathy.