Which Side Are You On?

Pete Seeger's recording of the union song "Which Side Are You On?"

There is a fantastic movie on mining workers and their struggles, in Harlan County, Kentucky, called "Harlan County, USA." It is a documentary I cannot recommend enough.

This song originated out of miner's struggles against the bosses, in the 30s, in Harlan County. The exploitation and the fighting did not end in the 30s. In 1973, the conditions there - and the opposition to a union - were shocking. [I've always found this a fine rejoinder to the claim that we are somehow "past" unions, because everything is nicer now] The union was famously corrupt and the film recounts the campaign of Miners for Democracy after the murder of Jock Yablonski, his wife, and his daughter.