"American Dream" is by all accounts a tear jerker. It tells the story of a local meatpacking union, the P-9, and it's struggle against Hormel with the help of Corporate Campaign Incorporated. At first blush, the film comes across as sympathetic to labor, but I would highly recommend reading "Hard Pressed in the Heartland" by Peter Rachloff to gain a different perspective on the P-9 struggle. After watching this film, many people walk away believing that the leadership of the local led the rank-and-file astray and brashly decided to ignore the warnings of the International. The film portrays the International representatives as sober realists and the dissident P-9 members as being unfairly discriminated against. What the book reveals is that the International actively worked with Hormel to sabotage the local, and furthermore describes the massive mobilization of government and media forces to repress this vibrant, participatory union before other unions began to imitate its example.
The movie is good, yes, but is skewed in such a way as to promote hierarchical union structures and business unionism. By all means pay attention to what it has to say, but then go out and discover how much it purposefully left unsaid.
The movie is good, yes, but is skewed in such a way as to promote hierarchical union structures and business unionism. By all means pay attention to what it has to say, but then go out and discover how much it purposefully left unsaid.
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