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Vol. 71/No. 23      June 11, 2007

 
Letters
 
‘Harlan County, USA’
Thanks for continuing to cover the international miners struggle. Militant readers may be interested in the most recent DVD version of Harlan County, USA, a documentary about the fight of miners in eastern Kentucky in the mid-1970s for the right to be represented by the United Mine Workers of America. The struggle against the Duke Power Company was intense, and the movie may be the best labor film ever produced.

The DVD has some extra material from a panel discussion with the director, Barbara Kopple, and film critic Roger Ebert at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, during which two coal miners fighting for a union at the Co-Op mine in Utah discuss their struggle. It is noted that the Utah struggle was led by Spanish-speaking workers.

The self-reliance, militancy, and solidarity of the labor movement during both strikes are an inspiration to all working people from Russia and China to Utah and Kentucky.

Mike Lux
New York, New York  
 
 
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