It follows the familiar trope of a male union organizer arriving in town, in this case to organize the workers at the O. Henley textile mill, the major employer in Henleyville. Indeed later in the film, Norma Rae literally calls him that when they go swimming in a river. The way he talks about organizing is telling. Henley textile mill. Way too soon dude!
This alerted the boss and exposed workers to risk right away before there was any chance to help them build confidence and trust in the campaign. Another blunder occurs later on when he was escorted through the plant to confirm that the union postings are visible. He asked a worker, in front of management, if he liked his job.
This is not how you build a good relationship with workers. His longer conversations with workers are not great either, featuring mainly lectures about how they are getting screwed and need the union, rather than starting with letting workers talk about their issues at work.
Reuben: With all due respect Mr. You need me, sir. But Reuben does have some good moments. When the campaign gets going and Norma Rae holds a union meeting in her house, Reuben shows his ability to listen by asking folks to just talk about whatever they want. One worker says that he used to work near a window with a view until the company bricked it up.
Another talks about how her husband recently died of Brown Lung, the historical scourge of textile workers. The main thread in the film is the growing relationship between Reuben and Norma Rae, as she becomes drawn into the campaign as the lead rank-and-file organizer.
Norma Rae is considered a feisty trouble-maker with a messy personal life single mother, affair with a married man, etc. Indeed management tries to tame her by giving her a promotion to a supervisory role. That job alienates her from her coworkers and she eventually quits to go back to the weaving room. You can wear a union button as big as a Frisbee when you go to work. You can take union pamphlets to the mill and pass them along. A tragedy that seems to draw her more deeply into the union campaign is when her father dies of an apparent heart attack in the plant after the boss refuses to let him rest when his arm is feeling numb.
You understand me? Now you kids, you know what I am. And you know that I believe in standing up for what I think is right. The film does a good job of touching on the things that would happen when organizing a union in a conservative, small town. The local minister refuses to let Norma Rae use his church for an interracial union meeting.
The synopsis below may give away important plot points. Getting Started Contributor Zone ». Edit page. Top Gap. See more gaps ». Create a list ». Movies I own - N. The Best of See all related lists ». Share this page:. Clear your history. In addition to anti-union rhetoric, the letter implied that the union was a front for a black power movement that would take over the plant and the town.
The bosses at Stevens knew that the union could bring charges against them before the National Labor Relations Board NLRB for posting a racially inflammatory message on company property. But Sutton could not be deterred. At first, she considered copying the letter discretely to avoid a confrontation. This tactic, however, proved ineffective.
It was taking too long, the women would forget the precise wording, and their frequent trips to the bathroom drew the attention of bosses. A few days later, as her co-workers filed into the cafeteria for their dinner break, Sutton took advantage of a moment when attention was diverted away from the bulletin board to copy the letter. Moody and General Overseer James Alston saw her and objected, but Sutton insisted that she had the right to copy the letter during her break. Lee, I am going to finish copying this letter.
And then, I am going to eat … supper. Sutton copied the letter word for word in front of them. He berated her for using the pay phone on company time. Sutton refused to respond to his accusations.
Lee shouted at her to leave the plant. Uncertain what to do next, Sutton insisted that she return to her workstation to retrieve her purse.
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