Review – Harlan County, USA

Anti-union folks should be forced to watch this movie. On the one hand, it partially vindicates critics who claim that unions are corrupt cabals. On the other hand, it does an excellent job of showing the desperation of the barely-getting-by folks who mine coal for a living (or depend on miners’ meager incomes) as well as some of the thuggish, underhanded conduct mine companies employ to keep their workers from banding together to force improvements in their working conditions. Oh, and don’t get lulled by the whole “that was the 70s but things must be better now” because no, not really. Worth seeing