Brothers On The Line Tells Labor history At LAHIFF by: Cory Hooker, Editorial Intern
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ACE: Arts • Culture • Entertainment ACE • Art, Culture, & Entertainment
hen Sasha Reuther decided to make a documentary about the United Auto Workers’ early struggles, he didn’t know if there would be an auto industry at its completion. “I didn’t know it was going to be so timely,” said Sasha, grandson of Victor Reuther, a powerful UAW figure. “We began making the film in 2007 and that was when we didn’t know if we were going to have an American auto industry anymore. The question was, ‘Is anyone going to care about the UAW when I finally finish the film?’” Since then, the percentage of Americans that belong to a union has hit its lowest point in nearly a century. In 2012, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that union membership in America was at 11.3 percent. By age, the rate was highest among workers 55 to 64 (14.9 percent) and lowest within ages 16 to 24 (4.2 percent). The documentary aims to give a brief but vital history lesson, a lesson that has vanished from our history books. Sasha believes that some grassroots activist groups are the key to increasing interest in labor studies. “We’re so fortunate, from the film’s perspective, that activists rose up in Wisconsin, there was the Occupy movement and now Michigan is a right to work state, which is surprising,” Sasha said. “All of these things have contributed to activists and the general public being curious and excited about labor studies. About how do we get in this position, where do we pick up the pieces? Where are the positive worker stories?” The story I’m telling is a very positive story of how a big piece of the middle-class was built by the UAW.” UAW Continued on page 17.
April 19 – May 2, 2013 April 19 – May 2, 2013
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