This week, I decided to watch the documentary “Finally Got the News…” (1970), which is a documentary about League of Revolutionary Black Workers, an organization of Black auto workers in Detroit, MI. I was initially interested in watching this not only because of how it relates to my topic, unions, but because it also takes place in Southeast Michigan, where I grew up. It also addresses the need for intersectionality in labor movements, which Mitch touched upon in his comment on my blog post last week.
The film opens with a montage that follows the history of Black labor in the United States up until approximately when the film was made, from enslavement to 1970’s working conditions in Detroit-area auto factories. The film does a good job of tying Black Marxist thought into the conditions faced by Black auto workers in Detroit, by speaking about the power blue-collar Black workers held within the existing system even if they didn’t hold white-collar positions (Kelley 2021). The film follows the formation of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers, a group of Black workers who identified that neither the corporations they worked for nor the UAW (United Auto Workers) were looking out for their best interests. The League of Revolutionary Black Workers sought to address Black auto worker’s grievances within their factories and to build an “independent Black labor organization” (Bird et al., 1970). It was strong because they interviewed people on the front lines, including workers and the candidate they endorsed to become a UAW trustee. This film also contextualizes the current League of Revolutionary Black Workers labor struggles alongside historic Black labor struggles. I would like to contextualize Starbucks barista struggles alongside the formation of the food service industry to contextualize the working conditions workers face and to address why there haven’t historically been unions for food service workers.
To achieve the creation of my film, I’ll need someone to run a camera and audio to film me asking my interview questions. I’m planning on drawing upon my previous production experience to film this documentary-I have made a few shorter pieces and have helped with the production of others work. I will also need to research foodworker and union history and ideally find an interviewee who can contextualize the two. Part of the reason I want to interview Starbucks workers in Philadelphia because it is both local and national-other workers elsewhere can connect their struggles. I also want to interview Starbucks workers because they are still attempting to organize other stores, but some of them have gone public and those who have gone public are more likely to appear on camera. There is a very real fear of union busting and workers are rightfully afraid of losing their jobs, which is something I experienced when I tried to unionize at a former job.
Finally, although I attended part of the session last Tuesday, I was on-call and had to deal with an emergency, so I would want to know logistical questions including how often committee members want to meet. I also am interested in working with people who have some knowledge and interest in organizing. Finally, I would want to have at least one person on my committee who is technically knowledgable to ensure I make a good film.
Works Cited:
Bird, S., Lichtman, R., Gessner, P. (directors). (1970). Finally got the news…[film].
Kelley, R. D. G. (2021). Why Black Marxism? Why now? Boston Review. https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/why-black-marxism-why-now/#:~:text=Black%20Marxism%20was%20primarily%20about,historical%20consciousness%20embedded%20in%20culture.