The next day soldiers entered Harlan to end the violence. Women took over the picket lines. UMWA itself assisted in larger actions. The 1976 documentary won an Academy Award. Acknowledgements; Introduction; User Notes 1. written by Florence Reece in 1931 during strikes that earned the community the name 'Bloody Harlan.'. Youll either be a union man or a thug for J.H. (Florence Reece appears in the film.) Todd Melby: The great thing about that scene is that we hear your voice and see him, and it sets up the viewer getting to know who this guy is and the duplicity. By the end of the year, the UMWA was once again the nations largest union; it would go on to bankroll the organizing of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and the labor upsurge of the 30s. Living in same house 1 year ago, percent of persons age 1 year+, 2017-2021. Barbara Kopple: No. SPECIALTIES Neurosurgery, Spine & Back. Lois Scott pulls a gun out of her dress and said something like, I started out with a switch, but now Im carrying a gun. She kept it between her breast in her bra! The miners lay in ambush for cars carrying company men, and shot at them. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Hes driving the pickup and there is a passenger in the pickup and youre learning in from the passenger side. Harlan County, USA is a 1976 American documentary film covering the "Brookside Strike", a 1973 effort of 180 coal miners and their wives against the Duke Power Company-owned Eastover Coal Company's Brookside Mine and Prep Plant in Harlan County, southeast Kentucky.It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary at the 49th Academy Awards.. They found sympathy there with spurned politicians and business owners who wished to see the company stores vanish. (Kopple says she and her crew were beaten until the strikers rescued them.) A Brief History of Harlan County, USA. You all look the same when you came out.. Ive got to think the advice is Once you go, dont leave.. Only late in 1939 did intransigent Harlan coal masters reluctantly sign on with the union. . Barbara Kopple: Yes, in the edit room. It was really early in the morning. The Harlan County War, or Bloody Harlan, was a series of coal mining-related skirmishes, executions, bombings, and strikes (both attempted and realized) that took place in Harlan County, Kentucky, during the 1930s. The strikers expected protection but upon replacing deputized mine guards, the National Guard broke the picket lines instead. We would do it in Tennessee. That made me think a lot too. A police captain said that the shooting had occurred after Mr. Jones and Mr. Bruner exchanged some angry words. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Mr. Bruner was . Aging autocrat and UMWA president John L. Lewis agreed to allow the employers a free hand in mechanizing the mines. [10] The Kentucky National Guard was once again called in on December 8, 1934, requested by UMW organizers who had been threatened by bosses and deputies. Youre not really supposed to do that, but they did, and it was very filmic. <p> Get your payments electronically sent to your checking or savings account to help achieve your goals. Which side are you on? That was the original. In "Bloody Harlan" in the 1930s, miners and union organizers faced bayonets and many died fighting the coal bosses, helping to fuel a national wave of organizing. [4]:81123, Where the NIRA had been toothless in Harlan, the Wagner Act of 1935 proved itself a far greater thorn in the side of Harlan County's mine operators. Bill Bruner. Harlan became one of the poorest counties in the United States. The BWC had nearly 100 members. It was directed and produced by filmmaker Barbara Kopple . Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. How long did the Harlan County strike last? The strikers made bumper stickers supporting their cause and drove around the community in a truck with loudspeakers to explain their grievances and hopefully gain support. Murdered while on a picket line in Harlan County KY, After his death an agreement was signed between the miners and the union! Todd Melby: Another scene that I really like I love all the scenes with the women behind the scenes organizing and debating what they should do and telling their own stories. Along with opposing the UMWA union, Eastover management also wanted a 'no-strike' clause to be included in any final contract. During the strike, there were scattered arrests at the picket sitesabout 40, according to the policeand both strikers and company officials reported that shots had been fired into their homes and company buildings. Todd Melby: His name is Basil Collins. The Harlan County War, or Bloody Harlan, was a series of coal mining-related skirmishes, executions, bombings, and strikes (both attempted and realized) that took place in Harlan County, Kentucky during the 1930s. Sad. So you see what's happened to the union movement for coal miners. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. [4]:67 Florence Reece, wife of organizer Sam Reece, wrote the labor standard "Which Side Are You On?". Todd Melby: Did you figure that out in the edit room? Published by Courier-Journal on Mar. Working with patients on their unique treatment plan that meets their family needs and health goals so they can return back . Welcome to Beba's world: we're all just visiting. The name comes from the nearly century-long and sometimes violent struggle between coal companies and workers seeking to unionize. The 2000 television movie Harlan County War starred Holly Hunter. Survivors include his son, Scott Alan (Cortney) Bruner and . I started doing the during the time of Miners for Democracy. Barbara Kopple: I guess that day was the scariest moment because I went up to one of the organizers and said, Do you think theyre going to shoot at us today?. An open shop allows union membership but does not mandate it. Hes asking you for your press pass. I didnt feel anything. 88.9%. What happened to Bill Bruner Harlan County? Perhaps even Homer didnt get the siege of Troy historically right, but he found the key to plant that war story in our collective imaginations. There followed a decade of strikes in the coalfields, often wildcat strikes by some 40,000 young members, many veterans of the war in Vietnam. Everybody had guns. Registered users can login to the website. If you followed that road, it would take you to the mine. In the boldest example, we see a defiant Tony Boyle, president of United Mine Workers, sneering at his rivals in the late sixties before his indictment for bribery and murder; later, we see him, a shriveled figure in a wheelchair, being carried into the court for his trial in 1974, an event that took place after the Brookside strike was over. No concessions were given by the mine operators and UMW membership plummeted. Bill worked for Sysco and retired after 30+ years as a truck driver. Strikers exchanged gunfire with private guards and local law enforcement; strikebreakers were set upon and beaten. IN Lowell W Smith R I. Urbarva. Todd Melby: So, you used your boom pole for protection? They say in Harlan County, there are no neutrals there Todd Melby: Another scene that involves the gun thug was the confrontation that was on the road during the daytime at a place in the road where [striking coal miners] previously hadnt attempted to stop the scabs from crossing. As you look at the film today, what are some moments or a particular moment that you are most proud of like, Oh my God, we captured that.. The strikers reported attempted bribery to denounce the union, being shot at numerous times, having dynamite thrown at them, shots fired into their homes, and constant verbal threats. She talks about elections in Harlan County and how they are intrinsically connected to the coal industry. Title cards throughout Harlan County, U.S.A. report on what caused the strike and what happened during the struggle between coal operators and the United Mine Workers of America: "In the summer of 1973, the men at the Brookside Mine in Harlan, Kentucky[,] voted to join the United Mine Workers of America"; "Duke Power Company and its subsidiary, Eastover Mining Company[,] refused to sign the . New machinery would transform underground mining but at the expense of the coal miners themselves. Barbara Kopple: That was that scene, and little did I realize that he was very tough, and all the people told me after, Youre in big trouble now!. Harlan is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Harlan County, Kentucky, United States. She talks about incidents of violence during the standoff. The Harlan County War, or Bloody Harlan, was a series of coal mining-related skirmishes, executions, bombings, and strikes (both attempted and realized) that took place in Harlan County, Kentucky, during the 1930s. Thompson and the Making of the New Left. Sometimes the verses have been changed, but she wrote that song. The right to form a local of the United Mine Workers (UMW) union. She talks about people being beaten or threatened, and houses and families being shot at. I went in front of him thinking I was so strong and invincible and you hear me get knocked over. We would drive to Tennessee to get the film. The name comes from the nearly century-long and sometimes violent struggle between coal companies and workers seeking to unionize. . Which Side Are You On? was written in the immediate aftershock of a midnight raid on Reeces home and her children by Harlan County sheriff J. H. Blair, in search of her husband. Why was Harlan County in the depression known as Bloody Harlan? "Harlan County" won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1977, but it had been years since the film was shown on the big screen. With documentaries, you never really know what youre going to get. I went to wikipedia to look for the quote from Brecht's The Jewish Wife about how character was a thing that could be measured in units of time, but I couldn't find it. The union, with all that it promised, is gone. This gives it a little extra dollop of bleakness. If you wasn't a gun thug, you was a union man. Most are missing a minimum of one and sometimes more vital amino acids your Pom needs.Lots of today's dog foods (including the costly, popular . Sheriff Blair was voted out of office in 1933 and died in 1934, replaced by T. R. Middleton, a candidate who ran on a pro-union platform. The Global NonviolentAction Database is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationallicense unless otherwise noted. My parents really helped a lot. On April 1, Harlan County is 200 years old. PHYSICIANS'S PRACTICE Advanced Neurosurgery Associates . Harlan, city, seat of Harlan county, southeastern Kentucky, U.S., in the Cumberland Mountains, on the Clover Fork Cumberland River. The United mine workers ( UMW ) union did you figure that out in the and. In Harlan County is 200 years old an open shop allows union but! With documentaries, you was a union man or a thug for J.H the strikers them! Filmmaker barbara Kopple: Yes, in the pickup and youre learning in from the century-long! The name comes from the nearly century-long and sometimes violent struggle between coal companies workers. Union membership but does not mandate it and how they are intrinsically connected to the coal industry you figure out. In the category `` Other happened to the mine operators and UMW plummeted... But they did, and it was very filmic was Harlan County War starred Holly Hunter she talks about being. 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