The first US labor parade and the adoption of Labor Day as a holiday both occurred during the Gilded Age, a time of great inequality something like our own. The American labor movement ever since has been rich in cultural works.
A case in point is the 1980 comic film 9 to 5, which has been airing since Dolly’s death last week. In the film, Dolly plays one of three secretaries who band together to get revenge on their criminal, sexist, autocratic corporate boss and end up achieving something much greater – turning the company into an egalitarian workspace with humane benefits such as in-office daycare and flexible working hours.
Other labor-themed works that have been circulating close to home include:
- Harlan County, USA (1976), a film commemorating a 1973 strike against Eastover Coal Company’s Brookside Mine and Prep Plant in Harlan County, southeast Kentucky, which was owned by Duke Power Company. See it on Facebook and hear such iconic labor songs as “Which Side Are You On?” (Florence Reece, 1931)
- Washington Place (David Brendan Hopes, 2015) narrating the events of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the labor laws it ushered in, which played at Hart Theater in 2025. Ask around – maybe someone you know saw it.
- The dueling songs “Rich Men North of Richmond” (Oliver Anthony, 2023) and “Rich Men Earning North of a Million” (Billy Bragg, 2023) that caused such a ruckus when they came out.
Keep the discussion going! Which labor works inspire you? Drop us a line at info@handsoffhaywood.org.
And keep standing up for a world that puts workers over billionaires.