Norma Rae

Norma Rae

This film is based on the real life story of Crystal Lee Sutton and her involvement with Ruben Warshovsky and the organization of the textile workers at the J.P. Stevens Company in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina (Labor Films). Sally Field plays the lead role of Norma Rae (Crystal Lee Sutton) fighting poor working conditions at O. P. Henley Company in 1978. This company is a southern textile mill, working with a union organizer to overcome pressure from management, implied dangers, and the struggle to organize her fellow employees. Although, the film is very entertaining, there are many examples of labor and management interactions including unfair labor practices by management, unfair labor practices by the union, and the procedural process of unionization process.

Norma Rae a loom operator in the weaving room is an outspoken individual and is very out spoken about her poor working conditions such as excessive noise, long hours with short breaks, physical stress from standing for long periods and abnormally high temperatures in the work areas. Added to all this is management¡¦s apathy for the working conditions, as seen when her mother looses her hearing temporarily with little or no sentiment from the company doctor, who knows this is a common problem for the workers. With this setting, the film progresses through most of the stages for employee organization. While management tries to get the workers support to keep the union out, and labor struggles to get a foothold to develop worker unity and get the union elected as the official bargaining agent both sides violate federal laws or come precariously close. First the Unfair Labor Practices (ULP) of the union will be examined.

After reviewing the film a rather short list of union ULP¡¦s, but they are potentially damaging and could be used by management to contest the outcome of the election if so desired. One committed by labor representative, the other by Norma Rae and are summarized as follows.

During an authorized plant inspection by Ruben Warshovsky, part of the unionization campaign, the union representative would stop and address employees ¡§Hello, I am Ruben Warshovsky from the United Textiles Workers Union of America,¡¨ or some other greeting identifying himself as a union representative while traveling through the plant. Management threatened to get an injunc...

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...in the film the results were announced immediately and the union had won. After the votes are counted either labor or management could file to have the results overturned based on violations of the other party or challenges the vote count due to ineligible voters.

Barrick ¡V 7

In conclusion there were violations of the Unfair Labor Practice laws committed by both parties during the organization process, which were identified in the film. I have identified two committed by labor representatives, not particularly grievous, but significant enough that ULP¡¦ violations could be filed. Based on the violations committed by labor, I do not think there would be any ruling by the NLRB that would affect the election results. If the election had gone the other way I could not say the same for the violations that were committed by management. The film depicted many aspects of the union organization process including the interactions of all parties involved. The organization process is more detailed than what was shown, but the general ideas of most of the major steps were accurate. Those steps that were not shown were invisible to the film but not the formal organizational process.