6. Dezember 2023 | 19:30–22:00
(USA 2018, 91min, englisch)
Das Lokal wird ab 19:30 Uhr geöffnet sein und Punkt 20:00 Uhr startet dann der Film. Anschließend wird es Raum geben über den Film und darüber hinaus mit uns zu sprechen.
Beschreibung des Verleihers: Union Time: Fighting for Workers’ Rights follows the story of workers at the Smithfield Pork Processing plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina, who fought for safe, fair working conditions – and won. It goes beyond hype about unions (from both sides) to show how people standing together can break the cycle of poverty and injustice. It also demonstrates the convergence of labor rights and civil rights, carrying on the legacy of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Since the Smithfield facility opened in Tar Heel in 1992, meatpacking workers endured dangerous working conditions, intimidation, and low pay. Fast line speeds and lack of job training led to amputated fingers, knife injuries, repetitive stress injuries, concussions, and broken limbs. One worker died when he was sent to clean out a tank filled with toxic fumes without standard OSHA safeguards.
In 1993, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) began working with employees in the plant. When a union election was held in 1994, the union lost. A second election in 1997 also resulted in a no-vote, thanks in part to Smithfield’s union-busting tactics. The company escalated the systemic intimidation of workers, threatened to close the plant if workers unionized, fired workers who supported the union, tried to turn African American and Hispanic workers against each other, and beat up union organizers.
The UFCW filed a number of grievances with the National Labor Relations Board, which in 2006, after many years in court, found Smithfield guilty of multiple violations and fined the company $1.1 million in back pay.
A turning point came when organizers engaged the broader community in the struggle. The UFCW launched the Justice@Smithfield campaign to make the public aware of the situation in Tar Heel. Rev. William J. Barber II of the NC NAACP and many other religious leaders described the cause as a merging of labor rights and civil rights. Jobs with Justice, the United Church of Christ, the Beloved Community of Greensboro, NC, and many other churches and religious denominations across the country publicized the campaign.
Hispanic workers faced special challenges. In 2006, they had to respond to “no-match” letters that demanded proof of a valid Social Security number. (Any employer has the responsibility to verify legality of employment upon hiring, but when the law is not followed, it gets blamed on the employee, not the employer.) Immigration officials took immigrant employees into custody in the plant and, during early-morning raids, at their homes.
Link: https://www.uniontimefilm.org/
Trailer: https://youtu.be/RbTPDUYZGhU?si=z_czxLhvO8ZAem5s