The Overnite strike was ripe for revealing similar issues involved in the Teamsters in the context of the TDU-Hoffa tension, but Kopple just didn't seem to reach as far as she could have. I'm not sure why.
Nathan Newman
nathan at newman.org http://www.nathannewman.org http://www.nathannewman.org/log/ (News & Views WebLog) ----- Original Message ----- From: "RE" <earnest at tallynet.com> To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com> Cc: "Irene" <ipadavic at garnet.acns.fsu.edu> Sent: Thursday, June 13, 2002 1:35 PM Subject: Re: HBO labor doc, "American Standoff"
I guess I can agree that "American Standoff" was excellent TV, such as it is. But it was damned annoying as labor history and analysis. Overall, Kopple did another decent job of getting US workers in front of a broad audience, and I suppose that alone makes the show acceptable. But the thematic and contextualization are very muddled.
The show is about "the plight of US labor," and in some respects this goes well: Overnite is vicious (e.g., they whine about Teamster violence, and then late in the strike the NYTimes reports that management hired thugs to shoot at their own trucks to prompt court action against the union), the NLRB is a "toothless dog," workers get ground down through the courts, etc. Overnite workers themselves are given a good, human voice, and the logic of their union commitment is solid. But Kopple interprets conflict between TDU and the "Old Guard" as an arbitrary "factionalism" that weakens labor. So, a pundit (there were two, a Cornell prof and the NYTimes labor reporter) liken the struggle to a feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys (actually, that feud, usually presented as a dumbass American vendetta, was linked to labor struggles, but that's not the point being made). There's no hint of the possibility of something going on like TDU fighting (corrupt) business unionism. Instead Hoffa, who in reality is very much "Old Guard," to be "Jimmy's son, angry at the mob who killed his father," seeks to free the Teamsters from the mob, which in cuts back to Jimmy's era is established as the source of corruption. The reasons for the Overnite strike are largely framed as arising from legitimate worker grievances (good stuff here) but when Kopple presents Hoffa and his lieutenant talking about a "political" context of the strike, she amazingly, astoundingly doesn't make it clear that Hoffa wanted to show that he could pull off something like the UPS strike of Carey's presidency. Indeed, the UPS strike isn't mentioned at all, at least as far as we could tell. One of the peak moments late in the film has a female trucker speaking to a Teamster convention. In the runup TDU members are holding placards saying "Hoffa Lied!," Hoffa supporters chant "TDU sucks." Her plea for unity makes both sides look equally petty and foolish.
Fortunately, there's much that doesn't fit this interpretation. Thus at one point in the film a likable militant in the Atlanta local is fired by the international for unspecified "union infractions." We then learn he's a TDU supporter, and then we're treated to a Teamster explaining to Hoffa's lieutenant how Atlanta teamsters have been pissed off by the serial removal of strike leaders by the international. But is that just self-defeating "factionalism" that can be stopped by unity appeals? Nope. Doesn't she read Labor Notes? r
----- Original Message ----- From: "Peter K." <peterk at enteract.com> To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com> Sent: Wednesday, June 12, 2002 12:27 AM Subject: HBO labor doc.
> [Anyone see this? I thought it was excellent TV, although maybe a little
too pro Hoffa.
> They did mention the TDU and the civil war that is going on inside the
Teamsters,
> although Hoffa won the election last year by a 2 to 1 margin. The Times's
Steven
> Greenhouse adds some context, along with a Cornell labor professor and
some others.]
>
> http://www.hbo.com/americaundercover/americanstandoff/synopsis.html
>
> "American Standoff is about a do-or-die strike by the International
Brotherhood of Teamsters against
> the nation's largest non-union trucking company, Overnite Transportation.
October 1999. Upset with
> management's decision to scale back hours and reduce employee benefits,
drivers at the non-union
> Overnite Transportation go on strike. In four terminals - Atlanta,
Memphis, Long Island and
> Chicago - union organizers arrive to recruit strikers. James P. Hoffa (son
of the legendary Jimmy
> Hoffa, the man who made the teamsters the largest, richest and most
powerful union in America) was
> elected president of the Teamsters earlier in the year. Hoffa vowed during
his campaign that his
> "top priority" would be the Overnite situation.
>
> The strike begins, and workers hit the picket line for what they hope will
be a quick resolution,
> but three weeks pass, then three months, now over two years. As the strike
drags on into winter, we
> come to know several men and women on the picket line. In Atlanta we meet
Joe Reeves, who has worked
> for Overnite since he was 18, considers Overnite his family, and yet is
still committed to a strike.
> In Long Island we are introduced to Mike Ferriolo, who feels discriminated
against because of his
> union views. In Chicago, we meet Hope Hampleman, the only female
tractor-trailer driver out of 75
> Overland workers. Although concerned about the strike's financial impact
on her family (she's a
> single mom with five kids), Hope sees no recourse.
>
> The strikers' initial resolve is eroded by lost pay, the sight of
co-workers crossing the line...
> and endless waiting. Though the Teamsters help many striking workers get
replacement jobs, the
> strike takes its toll on even diehard union members. To this day the
strike remains unresolved.
>
> Produced by two-time Academy Award winner® Barbara Kopple, American
Standoff takes a riveting,
> behind-the-scenes look at the trials and tribulations of the strike and
ultimately speaks to the
> state of the labor movement in this country today."
>
> Peter
>
>
>