IBEW Local 1245 Organizing Stewards
“This film is the real deal- it inspires and gives us hope to continue the fight for the long haul! My union, IBEW 1245 California/Nevada, showed the film to 105 organizing stewards at our annual training. We were inspired, ‘fired up and ready to go’, after seeing it. We broke out in a spontaneous chant, ‘What time is it? Union Time!’ ”
Impact of Union Time
Screening at the Party for Socialism and Liberation, New York, NY
This documentary is unique in that it not only tells an important story, but is also a training tool used by organizers to educate and motivate union members and potential union members. It is a witness to the fight for workers’ rights and an active source of guidance in that fight. Since its April 2016 release, Union Time has been used to educate, motivate, and inspire unionized workers, social justice organizations, and the general public.
The film has been screened to a number of union audiences including the IBEW, the Teamsters Union, and the Ironworkers Union.
In addition, the film has been shown at the headquarters of the National Labor Relations Board headquarters in February 2017. The NLRB is using the film for training and discussion in each of its 30 branch offices. The number of screenings in a variety of venues — including community screenings, college campuses, conferences, labor festivals, churches, and film festivals — is growing.
Union Training Sessions
International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers
Silver Springs, MD, February 4&5, 2020
International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers Union
Baltimore, MD, January 29, 2020
Locals of the Ornamental Plasterers and Cement Masons International Association (OPCMIA)
Toronto, Canada, March, April 2019
International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
Linthicum Heights, MD. March 24, 2019
Iron Workers Local 65
Queens, NY, January 29, 2019
Locals of the Ornamental Plasterers and Cement Masons International Association (OPCMIA) training session for Organizers and Business Managers
Las Vegas, NV, August 20, 2018
Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, Local 2001
Seattle, WA, July, 2018
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1245
San Francisco, CA March, 2018
National Labor Relations Board licensed and distributed Union Time to all 30 branch offices in tandem with videotape of Q and A with Barr and Jasper Brown, retired lead attorney in NLRB vs. Smithfield Foods, February 2017
Brotherhood of Maintenance and Way Division, International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Washington, DC and San Francisco, CA, 2017
“Matt Barr’s film is an important tool that can be used in training and education settings with workers everywhere. The Smithfield story … represents one of the largest pure private sector organizing victories in a generation, and it blends poignant stories of struggle that confront issues of race, class, gender and immigration. The Smithfield tale is universal; it resonates with workers whose experience may be far removed from the killing floor of the largest pork processing plant in the world.”
“This film highlights the determination and coming together of families through the eyes of the employees at the Smithfield Pork Processing plant during their struggle to secure safe working conditions. It also brings to light similar issues and concerns in the present day workplace.
I highly recommend this this film to anyone interested in the history of workers’ rights and how that history influences working families today and into the future.”