American Dream

Winner of the Oscar for Best Documentary in 1991, American Dream follows a prolonged strike at a meat processing plant in the town of Austin, Minnesota, in 1985 and 1986. The workers refuse to accept that the company, which made nearly 30 million dollars in profit in 1984, is cutting their hourly wage from $10.69 to $8.25.

Full of confidence and with the help of a hired labor strategist, the local union calls for a strike. But when the national union refuses to support the action, the strikers are left to fight on their own. As the strike turns into a war of attrition, the film powerfully shows the consequences for the local community. Should they stand firm or back down? That dilemma leads to intense conflicts within the union and even within families. Some workers return to work; others want to continue the strike until the bitter end.

American Dream is a moving account of an unequal struggle. In an interview about the film, filmmaker Barbara Kopple concluded: “In this country we’re allowed to strike, yet we’re not allowed to win.”