Harlan County, U.S.A Page #2

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Would you like a sticker?

We're protesting.

We're protesting Duke Power's

control over these men...

that voted in the U.M. W. Contract...

and Duke Power says,

"No, you can't have that contract. "

We have made them...

Dozens and dozens of proposals...

Of different language...

In these areas of disagreement.

They read 'em and throw 'em back.

They have no counterproposal.

If you could settle it quietly,

I would think maybe you'd do it and say...

"Well, maybe they won this battle,

but we've got 'em off our back. "

Well, I would agree with you to this extent

I'd like to have 'em off our back.

They're treatin' us

like we're animals, dogs.

Well, we aren't.

We're American citizens.

And they are violatin'

our constitutional rights...

when they tell us that we can't have

the union of our choice...

that those men voted in.

If you looked on TVthe other day,

you seen women goin'up there, and men

"Impeach Nixon.

Impeach Nixon."

But you let us get up there

with pick uh, with protest signs...

Against Duke Power...

And they're sendin' their gun thugs

to intimidate us.

What do you think when unions

are destroying our whole country?

Mm-hmm.

Mr. Hoffa's in the penitentiary...

The Teamster Union

are known communists...

The Longshoremen

are known communists.

Every union in the country strikin',

what will happen to our country?

The men wants higher wages.

They're gonna strike for it.

The union is backing 'em.

They stay on strike

till they get their higher wages.

Like I explained to my daughter, I said,

there's a spool of thread there.

That thread might have been 15 cents.

A man goes on strike, I said, if they want 30

more cents on an hour They get their 30 cents.

When they go back to work,

they got to raise that price to cover that wage.

The unions is what's doin'it.

The unions is ruinin'

the United States.

I went to work when I was 10 years old

pickin' slate in the coal burner.

Well, at that time

we were workin' 10 hours a day...

And we were gettin'

six-and-a-fraction cents an hour.

Well, we breaker boys...

we'd have our feet in the chute

and we'd be pickin'the slate out...

when the breaker boss

would sneak up behind us.

And ifhe'd see a piece of slate

comin'through...

he'd pick up the slate and hit you

in the back with it, and hit you hard.

And he'd said, "Pick that slate up."

Well, they used to abuse us, actually.

Well, finally we got to a stage where we figured

that, well, we was gonna strike.

That was when I learned

my first real political lesson...

About what happens when you

take a position against the coal operators...

Against the capitalists.

Well, the first thing that happened...

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