This review was originally titled WORKERS' CULTURE SHINES IN THE OPERA “ESPERANZA” and appeared in the October 2000 issue of the Iowa Postal Solidarity Newsletter. It was written by Bruce Clark, the president of the Iowa Postal Workers Union.

This month's column will be a departure from the usual subjects. In August, I had the distinct privilege to attend the world premiere of an opera. Yes, this column is basically about an opera. While I was raised with an appreciation of classical music, I can't say that normally my mother's love of opera ever really rubbed off on me. This owes in part to my never really giving opera a chance. This opera I saw in August was an exception.

I was lucky enough to attend, in Madison, WI, the world premiere of “Esperanza” a truly working class opera. The opera is actually based on a film called “Salt of the Earth.” Salt of the Earth is an incredible film about a strike. The film was created in the 1950s by Hollywood writers who were blacklisted during the McCarthy persecutions. They went into New Mexico and made this incredible movie using mostly the actual workers as the cast with a few additional professional actors.

The movie chronicles a miners' strike where the bosses have used traditional racist tactics to underpay the Mexican workers and build divisions between them and the Anglo miners. The story involves also the lives of one family in particular and shows the divisions that exist between men and women. The women have pressed for sanitation demands for the strike, since they live in terrible company housing without water. The men, while initially making those demands, quickly drop them in favor of other issues. When conditions finally force the workers to strike the mine, the bosses begin to rely on their usual strike breaking strategies. Efforts to bring in scabs are stopped by the militant roving pickets lines. Finally, the bosses rely on their courts to issue an injunction against picketing.

At this point, the wives declare they will take over the picket line. Most of the men are opposed to it as this is not a woman's place. Finally, in a community meeting with the women also allowed to vote, the motion passes to let the women hold the line. This begins a tremendous transformation of the lives of these workers. This conflict is played out in the movie in one specific family — the family of Esperanza who is the wife of one of the active leaders of the strike. As the women “man” the picket line, the husbands must stay home and take care of the kids, wash the clothes, etc. Finally, the men develop a first hand appreciation of the demands for sanitation and see that it should have always remained a key demand.

Meanwhile, on the picket line the women stand up to intimidation, tear gas, etc. Nothing can break their lines. In desperation, the bosses have the women all arrested, but continuing their tremendous militancy, they raise so much hell in the jail that the sheriff releases them to maintain his sanity. In the final scenes, the company resorts to their ultimate threat when they have a company town with company housing — eviction. Word spreads and miners from all over and their families stream to the house of the eviction, the house of Esperanza. The unity of Mexican and Anglo and men and women forged in the strike wins out, the eviction is defeated and it is clear the company will have to settle.

This is really among the most moving films ever made.

So, how did this film come to be an opera? That is one of the great parts of the story. The opera was commissioned by the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO along with the Wisconsin Labor History Society. Hats off to the leadership of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO!! These folks understand the important role that culture plays in our struggle. There is a tremendous legacy of working class culture in this country that has been denied to us. We are certainly not taught it in school and it certainly is not portrayed in the corporate controlled mass media. It is up to us to discover and continue the cultural traditions of those who have struggled before us for the rights of workers. APWU [American Postal Workers Union] is aware of this and has sponsored our own efforts through the Solidarity Kids Theatre led by Greg Poferi, the national NBA for Support Services Division and chair of the National organizing Committee. This young people's theatre has performed at conferences in the Twin Cities and also came to our Tri-State Convention in Davenport.

If you have not seen the film, it is generally available at most larger video rental places. If you have any way to see the film, you must. And if you ever get a chance to see this tremendous opera, whether you are an opera fan or not, you will love it. We should, as a union, do what we can to try to get the opera performed around Iowa and we must work to use our own workers culture more to help strengthen our fight. If you have seen a good labor film or are aware of a good piece of literature or music that portrays the struggle of workers, I would encourage you to write a review of it or just a short note of it so the rest of us can benefit from it and send this information to Iowa Postal Solidarity to get it in the paper.