Recounts the 1985-86 strike against the Hormel Foods Corporation in Minnesota after its employees' wages and benefits were cut.Recounts the 1985-86 strike against the Hormel Foods Corporation in Minnesota after its employees' wages and benefits were cut.Recounts the 1985-86 strike against the Hormel Foods Corporation in Minnesota after its employees' wages and benefits were cut.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 12 wins & 3 nominations total
Dan Rather
- Self
- (archive footage)
Ronald Reagan
- Self
- (archive footage)
Storyline
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Featured review
One of the best documentaries ever made.
This film is absolutely stunning. It centers around union meatpacking workers at a Hormel plant in Austin, Minnesota in the mid-80's. The trouble started when Hormel cut worker pay from $10.69 an hour to $8.25 an hour. The problem? Hormel had just posted a net profit of $30 million. As one worker at a union meeting put it, "If we have to take a cut of $2.45 an hour when the company just made $30 million, I hate to think of what's gonna happen when they actually post a loss." With no help from their parent union, International Food and Commercial Workers Union, the local union (P-9) goes on strike alone trying to bring Hormel to its knees. Director Barbara Kopple, who also made the great "Harlan County, USA", does an outstanding job of capturing every important moment. She has the camera there at every union meeting, press release, Hormel press release, etc. She also shows the very personal aspects of a strike going into people's homes and showing their innermost feelings about what's going on. In the end, the strike is long, drawn out, and things appear bleak. The constant Minnesota cold, snow and ice are always in the background as well. If one doesn't have a greater appreciation for unions and what they have to sometimes endure after watching this film, he/she probably didn't pay very good attention.
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Американская мечта
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $269,823
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $9,291
- Mar 22, 1992
- Gross worldwide
- $269,823
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