Reel Solidarity: Labor Films to Watch This Labor Day

Brian Pearson
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Labor Films to Watch This Labor Day Weekend

If you find yourself at home this Labor Day weekend, we’ve got a great lineup of labor films to check out. Many are not just great stories about workers, but great films on their own—with powerful acting, direction, and storytelling. And with movies so easy to watch nowadays with on-demand platforms, several of these titles are just a few clicks away.

Streaming Now Free

  • The Killing Floor (1984) – A dramatization of the 1919 Chicago Stockyards labor struggles. Streaming free on Kanopy and Hoopla
  • The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) – A classic comedy about a department store owner who goes undercover as a clerk to root out union activity. Streaming free on Plex.
  • The Wobblies (1979) – Documentary on the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Streaming free on Tubi.
  • Silkwood (1983) – Based on the true story of Karen Silkwood, a whistleblower at a plutonium plant. Streaming free on Hoopla.
  • Salt of the Earth (1954) – A groundbreaking film about Mexican-American zinc miners fighting for dignity. Streaming free on Tubi, Pluto TV, and Plex.
  • The Molly Maguires (1970) – Sean Connery and Richard Harris in a story of coal miners and undercover agents. Streaming free on Pluto TV.
  • Matewan (1987) – John Sayles’ powerful film about the 1920 West Virginia coal miners’ strike. Streaming free on YouTube.
  • 10,000 Black Men Named George (2002) – A film about the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first Black-led American union. Streaming free on YouTube.
  • The Valley of Decision (1945) – Romance and class struggle set against Pittsburgh’s steel industry. Available free on Tubi.
  • Native Land (1942) – Paul Robeson narrates this docudrama about labor rights and repression in America. Available free at Archive.org.
  • In Dubious Battle (2016) – Adaptation of Steinbeck’s novel about fruit pickers organizing in Depression-era California. Available free on Tubi.
  • At the River I Stand (1993) – The story of the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers’ strike and Dr. King’s final campaign. Available free on Kanopy.

Streaming Now with Paid Subscription

  • American Factory (2019) – Academy Award–winning documentary about an Ohio auto plant owned by a Chinese company. Streaming on Netflix.
  • Cesar Chavez (2014) – Biopic of the farmworker leader and organizer. Streaming on Amazon and Fandango Home.
  • Newsies (1992) – A Disney musical inspired by the 1899 New York newsboys’ strike. Streaming on Disney+.
  • Harlan County, USA (1976) – Oscar-winning documentary on a coal miners’ strike in Kentucky. Streaming on Max.
  • The Organizer (1963) – Italian classic about a professor helping textile workers strike. Available on Criterion Channel.
  • 9to5: The Story of a Movement (2019) – Documentary companion to 9 to 5, telling the real story of women clerical workers organizing. Stream with PBS Passport.

Streaming Rentals

  • 9 to 5 (1980) – Three office workers take on their sexist boss in this workplace comedy classic. Available to rent on Amazon, $3.79
  • Hoffa (1992) – Jack Nicholson stars as the powerful and controversial Teamsters leader. Rent on Amazon, $3.99.
  • How Green Was My Valley (1941) – A Welsh coal mining family’s struggles over time. Rent on Amazon, $3.79.
  • North Country (2005) – Charlize Theron portrays a miner who brings a landmark sexual harassment case. Rent on YouTube, $3.99.
  • Made in Dagenham (2010) – British film about women auto workers striking for equal pay. Rent on YouTube, $3.99.
  • Pride (2014) – Welsh miners form an unlikely alliance with LGBTQ activists during the 1984 strike. Rent on YouTube, $3.99.
  • Union (2024) – New documentary on the Amazon Labor Union’s fight in Staten Island. Rent on Apple TV, $4.99.
  • Brothers on the Line (2012) – Documentary on the Reuther brothers’ leadership in the UAW. Rent on Amazon, $1.99.

Not Available for Streaming

  • American Dream (1990) – Barbara Kopple’s documentary about a bitter meatpacking strike in Minnesota. 
  • Bread and Roses (2000) – Immigrant janitors in Los Angeles fight for dignity and union rights. 
  • Norma Rae (1979) – A Southern textile worker becomes a union activist.

Why These Films Matter

From comedies like 9 to 5 to powerful documentaries like Harlan County, USA and American Factory, labor films remind us that the struggles of working people—on the picket line, in the workplace, and in our communities—are also stories of resilience, justice, and dignity.

This Labor Day, whether you’re looking for a laugh, a history lesson, or a moving drama, these films offer a window into the lives and fights of working people across generations.