Labor of Love: Reels

Found AFL-CIO Archives: 16 mm film reels

Our Labor of Love project just concluded the first phase of the project aimed at preserving the history of labor resistance in the Inland Empire. Through video interviews with various contemporary movement leaders and archival documents that have been preserved since 1887, we hope to change the narrative of labor in the region.

Film Reels

Featured

“Right Wing Machine”
“Fight for my Union?… Damn Right I Would.”
“Words from a True Friend of Workers and Their Unions” Hubert Humphrey

When looking through our archives, we found three different 16 mm film reels from the AFL-CIO, each with a different topic central to organized labor. A single unifying theme among them is the importance of union members being active within politics, as they’re produced by the national Committee on Political Education.

We were able to get them digitized for our Labor of Love project and can keep this important history alive!

Alongside two of the films, were letters explaining what they were about as well as guides for group discussions, which we’ve scanned and included below. We hope that these videos will be enjoyed for both their historical and educational value, by all. We’ve attached them below in the form of PDF and downloadable images. Or alternatively, you can download and view them here: Right Wing Machine and Fight for my Union.

Right Wing Machine

“This relates the growing threat of right wing political activity aimed at defeating labor’s friends in Congress and at other levels of government and replacing them with anti-worker ultra-conservatives. Describing tactics and techniques of politically active right wing groups, their tremendous fund-raising capability, their sophisticated and effective political operations, and demonstrating their use unions and their leaders and members as whipping boys both to raise funds and to promote their candidates for office.”

Right Wing Machine Download

Fight for my Union? Damn Right I Would!

“The intensified campaign of corporate and right-wing forces to break unions and elect anti-labor candidates is described in this film. The rise of corporate political action committees and the implications of the Supreme Court decision permitting the use of corporate treasury funds for political purposes are spelled out. How union members can organize to fight against these destructive forces is outlined.”

FightForMyUnion Download

Words from a True Friend of Workers and Their Unions – Hubert Humphrey

Unfortunately, nothing accompanied this film in terms of a summary. One will be provided here: This short film was shot at the Minnesota AFL-CIO Convention on September 19, 1977. The speaker is former Vice President and Senator from Minnesota, Hubert Humphrey. It would be his last public appearance before a union audience, before his death on January 13, 1978. Hubert Humphrey served as the 38th Vice President of the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson. In his speech, Vice President Humphrey speaks about his longstanding relationship with the labor movement, his belief in the importance of labor history, and how he hopes the labor movement will be strengthened.