Union Protest Propaganda Film Shows World War II Vets Protecting The American Flag.

This “news” report was produced n 1946 by the UE - the abbreviation for United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, a national union representing tens of thousands of workers in a wide variety of manufacturing, public sector and private service-sector jobs. The were becoming a part of the CIO. While it is a clear piece of propaganda, the footage is dramatic (probably filmed by members of the union) and the effective use of snare and base drums in track the music track I touched me. The footage was filmed at a strike which took place just months after Japan surrendered ending World War II. The workers struck on January 14, 1946 in Camden New Jersey and in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. The strike was called over wages and working conditions. The video, which is union propaganda (not to say that it is incorrect) was at a time when Americans of all stripes and political persuasions felt great patriotism. Many of the protesters in the parade were war veterans and as the documentary says, they carried an American flag at the front of the line. That symbol was ripped down by the police who many said represented big business. The police not only expected violence but footage from the time indicates that they probably did provoke it. At the end of a long period of strikes, the union won in the settlement that favored an improvement in workers wages.