In June 1973, coal miners went on strike at the Eastover Mining Company's Brookside Mine in Harlan County, Kentucky. Eastover's refusal to sign a contract (when the miners joined the United Mine Workers of America) triggered the strike, which lasted more than a year and included violent clashes between gun-toting company thugs/scabs and picketing miners and their supportive women-folk. Director Barbara Kopple puts the strike in context by providing some background on the miners' historical plight as well as the UMWA's history.
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In June 1973, coal miners went on strike at the Eastover Mining Company's Brookside Mine in Harlan County, Kentucky. Eastover's refusal to sign a contract (when the miners joined the United Mine Workers of America) triggered the strike, which lasted more than a year and included violent clashes between gun-toting company thugs/scabs and picketing miners and their supportive women-folk. Director Barbara Kopple puts the strike in context by providing some background on the miners' historical plight as well as the UMWA's history.
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