American Dream (1990)

Chronicles the six-month strike at Hormel in Austin, Minnesota, in 1985-86. The local union, P-9 of the Food and Commercial Workers, overwhelmingly rejects a contract offer with a $2/hour ... See full summary »

Directors:

Barbara Kopple, Cathy Caplan,

Stars:

Jesse Jackson, Juan Munoz, Ray Rogers

Won 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Jesse Jackson	...	Himself
Juan Munoz
Ray Rogers	...	Himself

Storyline

Chronicles the six-month strike at Hormel in Austin, Minnesota, in 1985-86. The local union, P-9 of the Food and Commercial Workers, overwhelmingly rejects a contract offer with a $2/hour wage cut. They strike and hire a New York consultant to manage a national media campaign against Hormel. Despite support from P-9's rank and file, FCWU's international disagrees with the strategy. In addition to union-company tension, there's union-union in-fighting. Hormel holds firm; scabs, replacement workers, brothers on opposite sides, a union coup d'état, and a new contract materialize. The film asks, was it worth it, or was the strike a long-term disaster for organized labor?

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Plot Keywords:

striking | brother against brother | recession | boycott | brother brother relationship | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for momentary strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 October 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amerikaniko oneiro

Filming Locations:

Austin, Minnesota, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$269,823 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cabin Creek, Catholic Communication Campaign, Channel Four Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Features NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams (1970)

User Reviews

Reminds me of the good IL' days

I was raised in a beef slaughtering plant family in Northeastern Colorado. My father was a member of UFCW Local 7 for many years as well as my brothers and my mother. Watching this movie brought back memories of how life was during strike time. I will hand it to Kopple, about catching the true realities of a plant family on strike. The scenes of the negotiation teams and plant management were excellent, since I didn't get to see what happens behind closed doors, there were guys that told me, but it really hits home when you see it. The scenes of the slaughter, even though my family worked in beef plant and this was a hog plant, I could hear the noise and smell the smells and oddly enough, it was like being back home. This movie brought some tears to my eyes and some bittersweet memories...please e-mail if you have any questions about what life is like on strike...