Our mission at the Power At Work Blog is “to contribute to a discourse in the United States that emphasizes the importance of collective action and puts workers and worker power at the center of that conversation.” One part of that mission is to lift up movies and other popular culture that features worker power, unions, and workers’ collective action.
At the same time, the Power At Work Blog team likes to have fun. And we love watching movies. So, we thought the best way to bring all these things together would be to invent #LaborOscars2024: the movie awards that focus on worker power, unions, and collective action. And, maybe the best idea of all is our subscribers and other friends are going to choose the winners!
The power is in your hands!!! Voting begins tomorrow, Monday, February 19th and continues through Monday, February 26th.
Here’s how it works.
Cast your vote in each category (see below) by sharing posts that include the hashtag #LaborOscarsVote and tagging the Power At Work Blog accounts (either @PowerAtWorkBlog or @PowerAtWork) on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, and/or TikTok. We will also survey our subscribers.
Again, voting closes on Monday, February 26th. So, cast your votes today. Your votes on social media together with a survey we have sent to our subscribers and friends of the blog will decide the movies that take home “The Worker!” (Well, there’s nothing to take home. It’s just a graphic.)
We will count up all the votes after Monday, February 26th. Return to the Power At Work Blog on March 8th (or subscribe to the Power At Work Blog) to find out the results!
Vote for one movie in each of five categories:
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Best Feature Film,
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Best Documentary Film,
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Best International Labor Film,
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Best Worker Power Profile (of a small group or individual), and
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Worst Movie About Unions.
We’ve selected five nominees for each category. You may vote for one of those nominees or you may vote “Other” and write-in any other films from our full list of 55 labor movies listed in chronological order and broken down by category (look below).
So, let’s vote on your preferred social media channel! And don’t forget to use the hashtag #LaborOscarsVote and tag @PowerAtWorkBlog or @PowerAtWork so we will be able to find your votes on social media. May the best (or worst) movies win!
The #LaborOscars2024 Nominees:
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On the Waterfront (1954), dir. Elia Kazan
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Norma Rae (1979), dir. Martin Ritt
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Matewan (1987), dir. John Sayles
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Bread & Roses (2000), dir. Ken Loach
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Rustin (2023), dir. George C. Wolfe
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Harlan County, U.S.A. (1976), dir. Barbara Kopple
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The Wobblies (1979), dir. Stewart Bird & Deborah Shaffer
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American Dream (1990), dir. Barbara Kopple
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The Hand That Feeds (2014), dir. Robin Blotnick & Rachel Lears
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9 to 5: The Story of a Movement (2020), dir. Julia Reichert & Steven Bognar
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The Organizer (1963), dir. Mario Monicelli - Italy
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The Land (1970), dir. Youssef Chahine - Egypt
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Germinal (1993), dir. Claude Berri - France
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Made in Dagenham (2010), dir. Nigel Coles - Britain
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The Factory (2015), dir. Rahul Roy - India
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Union Maids (1976), dir. Julia Reichert & Jim Klein
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10,000 Black Men Named George (2003), dir. Robert Townsend
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Brothers on the Line (2012), dir. Sasha Reuther
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Caesar Chavez: An American Hero (2014), dir. Diego Luna
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Rustin (2023), dir. George C. Wolfe
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Boxcar Bertha (1972), dir. Martin Scorsese
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Inside Detroit (1956), dir. Fred F. Sears
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The Pajama Game (1957), dir. George Abbott & Stanley Donen
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F.I.S.T. (1978), dir. Norman Jewison
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Hoffa (1992), dir. Danny Devito
For Your Consideration, the Complete List of Labor Movies by Category:
Best Feature Film
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Strike (1925), dir. Sergei Eisenstein
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Metropolis (1927), dir. Fritz Lang
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Black Fury (1935), dir. Michael Curtiz
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The Devil and Miss Jones (1941), dir. Sam Wood
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How Green Was My Valley (1941), dir. John Ford
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On the Waterfront (1954), dir. Elia Kazan
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Salt of the Earth (1954), dir. Herbert J. Biberman
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Inside Detroit (1956), dir. Fred F. Sears
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The Pajama Game (1957), dir. George Abbott & Stanley Donen
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The Organizer (1963), dir. Mario Monicelli
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The Molly Maguires (1970), dir. Martin Ritt
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The Land (1970), dir. Youssef Chahine
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Joe Hill (1971), dir. Bo Widerberg
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Boxcar Bertha (1972), dir. Martin Scorsese
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The Union (Il Sindicalista) (1972), dir. Luciano Salce
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F.I.S.T. (1978), dir. Norman Jewison
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Northern Lights (1978), dir. John Hanson & Robert Nilsson
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Blue Collar (1978), dir. Paul Schrader
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Norma Rae (1979), dir. Martin Ritt
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Silkwood (1983), dir. Mike Nichols
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The Killing Floor (1984), dir. Bill Duke
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Matewan (1987), dir. John Sayles
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Hoffa (1992), dir. Danny Devito
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Newsies (1992), dir. Kenny Ortega
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Germinal (1993), dir. Claude Berri
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Bread & Roses (2000), dir. Ken Loach
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10,000 Black Men Named George (2002), dir. Robert Townsend
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North Country (2005), dir. Niki Caro
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Made in Dagenham (2010), dir. Nigel Coles
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Pride (2014), dir. Matthew Warchus
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Caesar Chavez (2014), dir. Diego Luna
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Sorry to Bother You (2018), dir. Boots Riley
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The Irishman (2019), dir. Martin Scorsese
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Rustin (2023), dir. George C. Wolfe
Best Documentary Film
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Harlan County, U.S.A. (1976), dir. Barbara Kopple
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Union Maids (1976), dir. Julia Reichert & Jim Klein
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The Wobblies (1979), dir. Stewart Bird & Deborah Shaffer
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Final Offer (1985), dir. Sturla Gunnarsson & Robert Collison
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American Dream (1990), dir. Barbara Kopple
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At the River I Stand (1993), dir. David Appleby, Allison Graham, & Steven Ross
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Out at Work (1997), dir. Kelly Anderson & Tami Gold
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American Standoff (2002), dir. Kristi Jacobson
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The Take (2004), dir. Naomi Klein & Avi Lewis
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Where Do You Stand? Stories from an American Mill (2004), dir. Alexandra Lescaze
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Maquilapolis (2006), dir. Vicky Funari
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Brothers on the Line (2012), dir. Sasha Reuther
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The Hand That Feeds (2014), dir. Robin Blotnick & Rachel Lears
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Still the Enemy Within (2014), dir. Owen Gower
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Pencils Down! The 100 Days of the Writers Guild Strike (2014), dir. Brian S. Kalata
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The Factory (2015), dir. Rahul Roy
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Blood on the Mountain (2016), dir. Jordan Freeman & Mari-Lynn C. Evans
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We The Workers (2017), dir. Wenhai Huang
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Divided We Fall (2017), dir. Victoria Acosta
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Union Time (2018), dir. Matthew Barr
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9 to 5: The Story of a Movement (2021), dir. Julia Reichert & Steven Bognar
Best International Labor Film
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The Organizer (1963), dir. Mario Monicelli - Italy
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The Land (1970), dir. Youssef Chahine - Egypt
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Germinal (1993), dir. Claude Berri - France
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The Take (2004), dir. Naomi Klein & Avi Lewis - Canada
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Maquilapolis (2006), dir. Vicky Funari - Mexico/US border
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Made in Dagenham (2010), dir. Nigel Coles - Britain
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Still the Enemy Within (2014), dir. Owen Gower - Britain
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The Factory (2015), dir. Rahul Roy - India
Best Worker Power Profile (Small group or individual)
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Union Maids (1976), dir. Julia Reichert & Jim Klein
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Hoffa (1992), dir. Danny Devito
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10,000 Black Men Named George (2002), dir. Robert Townsend
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Made in Dagenham (2010), dir. Nigel Coles
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Brothers on the Line (2012), dir. Sasha Reuther
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The Hand That Feeds (2014), dir. Robin Blotnick & Rachel Lears
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Caesar Chavez: An American Hero (2014), dir. Diego Luna
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Rustin (2023), dir. George C. Wolfe
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Final Offer (1985), dir. Sturla Gunnarsson & Robert Collison
