Ain't no miracle bein' born
People doin' it every day
Ain't no miracle growin' up
People just grow that way
So it goes like it goes
Like the river flows
And time, it rolls right on
And maybe what's good
Gets a little bit better
And maybe what's bad gets gone
Bless the child of a workin' man
She knows too soon who she is
And bless the hands of a workin' man
He knows his soul is his
So it goes like it goes
Like the river flows
And time, it rolls right on
And maybe what's good
Gets a little bit better
And maybe what's bad gets gone
Yeah, it goes like it goes
Like the river flows
And time keeps rollin' on
And maybe what's good
Gets a little bit better
And maybe what's bad
Gets gone
That's all you're eating
for lunch? An apple?
I'm dieting.
I got to keep my strength up.
I put these preserves up myself.
Sunday, Russell and I put up
over 60 quarts of peaches.
What did you do over
the weekend, Norma?
I soaked my feet.
I saw you in town Sunday.
Your friend drives
a mighty big car.
If you'd looked on the motel
register, you'd seen my name, too.
It's none of m business.
Mama, you haven't opened
up your sack yet.
Mama, aren't you hungry?
Mama?
Mama, you feeling all right?
Mama?
Mama, can you hear me?
Mama?
Mama!
Mama, come on. Come on.
She didn't hear one word I said!
You know that happens.
Well, it doesn't happen to my mama!
It'll pass off.
It's just temporary.
That makes it OK!
She's only deaf all day!
She can get another job.
What other job in this town?
I'll give her a note.
They'll send her home.
Come on, Mama.
They don't care anything about you.
You all right out there?
I'm fine.
You're going to get all bitten up.
I'll be in. Just a minute.
Well...
I'm going to let this pot soak.
There's one soaking from breakfast.
Now it's got company.
Hey, you kids.
10 more minutes of this junk,
then do your homework.
I did it.
Unsatisfactory in
lettering and reading,
and your numbers aren't too good.
You haven't done much homework.
- Shh!
- Shush! I'll shush you.
What are you getting fixed up for?
I'm going into town.
What do you need in town?
Things.
OK. I'll drive you in.
You got Bonanza on next.
I'll miss that. It's
the same every week.
I'm going to J.C. Penney's,
buy myself some panties and a white
cotton brassiere, size 32-B.
If you want to sit outside
the dressing room
and have the ladies look
at you, then come on.
No, ma'am.
You coming straight back?
No.
I'm going to the drugstore,
buy myself some Kotex pads
and a Cosmopolitan magazine.
Mm-hmm. Then you coming home?
Yeah. I'll be so tired
from all the excitement,
I'll be coming home.
Hi.
Mr. Witchard?
That's right. Vernon Witchard.
Who are you?
My name is Reuben Warshovsky.
Warshovsky. What kind
of name is that?
The kind you have to spell for
telephone operators and headwaiters.
What do you want?
I'd like a room with a mill family.
What for? We got a hotel,
a motel with 36 rooms.
I want to get to know
some mill hands.
Why is that?
I'll tell you.
I just got into town
about an hour ago.
Hi. How are you?
Right away, the police chief
was saying, "Who are you?"
So I told him I'm a
labor organizer.
I've come to put a union in
the OP. Henley Textile Mill.
He said, "The hell you are, boy!"
He was dead right.
You people are Communists,
agitators, crooks, or Jews,
or all four rolled together.
You make folks lose their jobs,
get their heads busted...
Excuse me, sir.
How much do you make an hour?
I make $1.33 a frame.
When was your last
cost-of-living raise?
I haven't had that.
With today's inflation,
that makes you a schlemiel.
You calling me some kind of name?
You're underpaid.
You're overworked.
They're shafting you right
up to your tonsils.
You need me, sir.
If you run real fast,
you'll get to your car
before my dog bites you.
We ain't even got a dog.
You don't need one.
Hey. How you doing?
Do you have any vacancies?
Yes.
Hi.
Hey.
Friendly little town you got here.
So far I've been told
to shove off, get off, and go away.
Oh, it's OK.
Make sure they spray
your room for roaches.
You got roaches down here?
I'm very familiar with roaches.
Do you have a room with a view?
You got the back alley
or the parking lot.
Which?
Back alley or parking lot?
Give him 31, Alston.
Can't hear the drunks
from in there.
I'll be back this way next
Wednesday after dinner.
I'm having dinner
with my wife's folks.
Tonight was the last time, George.
You don't say, Norma Rae.
Well, now, isn't that
a surprising turn?
No. Been coming on for some time.
You know something funny?
I didn't notice it.
Didn't you get your steak dinner
and your box of pralines?
Didn't you come three times in
a row in that bed over there?
I wasn't counting.
Ha ha ha!
Well, well, well.
Looks like I don't know what it
takes to satisfy you these days.
It just doesn't sit well
with me anymore, George.
You got your wife, your
two kids in high school.
There's a lot of gossip.
I got my two kids.
I don't know.
It just doesn't make me feel good.
You're here to make me feel good.
I'm not trotting down here anymore.
Why, you hick.
You got dirt under
your fingernails.
You pick your teeth
with a matchbook.
What the hell are you
good for, anyway?
You come outta that factory,
you wash under your armpits,
you come on down here and
spread your legs for a poke,
and you're dumping me?
I heard a hell of a thump.
That was me, getting
throwed across the room.
I have some ice for that.
Sit down. Please.
You look all shook up.
Here, put this on.
I thought everybody down
South was Ashley Wilkes.
You lie down with
dogs, you get fleas.
Does this look broken to you?
Go like this.
No, I don't think so.
Do you want aspirin?
No, thanks.
Band-Aid? Valium?
You're a whole drugstore.
I'm a mild hypochondriac.
Keep that on it.
Ohh.
Me and men.
I ought to learn to say
no right from the start.
But if it wasn't men, I don't
know what it would be.
You got a lot of books.
I'm terrified I'll wake up
in a motel room one morning
and have nothing to read
but the phone book.
She got big eyes.
Yeah, got a big brain, too.
What's her name?
Dorothy Finkelstein.
She's a hotshot labor
lawyer out of Harvard.
She must be your girlfriend if
you haul her picture around.
We sleep together
on Sunday mornings
and read The New York Times.
I guess that makes
her my girlfriend.
Hey.
- I'm Norma Rae Wilson.
- Reuben Warshovsky.
Nice meeting you.
My pleasure. Keep
that on your nose.
I'm sorry about my daddy.
He got a short fuse.
My credentials keep me
out of a lot of places.
But once in a while,
someone puts me in
their best bedroom
and treats me like a cousin.
- Ha ha ha!
- What?
That sure as heck
wouldn't be my daddy!
You a Jew?
I beg your pardon?
Are you a Jew?
Born and bred.
I never met a Jew before.
How you doing?
I heard you all had horns.
Circumcised, yes. Horns, no.
Well, as far as I can see,
you don't look any different
from the rest of us.
Well, we are.
Well, what makes you different?
History.
Oh.
You got it now?
Hey, it looks better.
I think it stopped.
Thanks for the ice.
Any time.
Christ, I hope not.
Good morning.
I'm from the Textile
Workers' Union of America.
Read this when you have a
chance, on your break.
Thank you. Good morning.
Read this when you
have a chance, please.
Thank you.
Here you go.
Good morning.
Read this when you have a chance.
I'm from the Textile
Workers' Union of America.
Read this when you have a chance.
Read this on your break.
Want to read this
when you can, please?
I'm from the Textile
Workers' Union of America.
You want to read this
when you have a chance?
Good morning.
You want to read this when
you get home, please?
I'm with the Textile
Workers' Union of America.
Read this on your break.
Good morning!
How's your nose?
Read that on your break.
There's too many big words.
If I don't understand it, they
ain't gonna understand it.
That fellow your friend, Norma?
He's getting to be.
- Better hurry. You'll be late.
- I don't care if I get there tomorrow.
If you have questions,
I'm at the Golden
Cherry Motel, room 31.
Don't be late for work, now, folks.
Good morning.
The lady wants to go to work.
I'll catch you later.
One of you guys shows up
about every four years,
about the same time
we get the locusts.
What's your name?
My name's Jimmy Jerome Davis.
We got six boss men
in civil contempt.
Would you care to make it seven?
Why, hell, we plaster the
toilets with them things.
Want to read this on your break?
Asshole.
I already told him I wouldn't go
out to dinner. What's he want now?
Maybe he wants to make
it breakfast, Norma Rae.
Whatever it is, I didn't do it.
You got the biggest
mouth in this mill.
"Give us a longer break,
more smoking time.
"Give us a Kotex pad machine."
Do it, and I'll shut up.
The only way to close that
mouth is to promote you.
You're going up in
the world, honey.
Yeah? How far for how much?
Well, we're going to put
you on spot-checking.
Well, hell, it sure ain't
gonna make me any friends.
It'll make you another
$1.50 an hour.
How am I doing, little girl?
You doin' good, Daddy.
I think you better try to
speed it up, if you can.
I'm going as fast as I can.
Yeah.
Well, they're watching me.
They're watching you.
Well, what, you're sore at me?
You shouldn't push your own daddy.
I need the money for my kids.
Well, I don't need it from my kid.
Millie! Craig!
What are you doing in
Grandma's marigolds?
Get up!
I don't want to.
You do it anyway!
You're filthy!
I asked you to watch him.
Criminy! I cleaned you up once!
Come on! Right in here now.
That's it.
Come on, Steve! Come on, Steve!
Come on!
All right! They made it!
He's got an arm on him!
Woo!
Hey, you want something?
Get me a hot dog, lots of relish.
- Woo!
- All right!
Can I have a hot dog, please?
OK.
Thank you.
Hi, Wilma. Can I have two dogs?
OK. Just a minute.
Hi. How you doing?
You enjoying the game?
Oh, yeah. I love the shortstop.
Scouts are looking at him.
What's the matter?
You don't like it?
This isn't a hot dog.
What's in this thing?
Lots of things you don't
want to know about.
Excuse me a minute.
Hello, Norma.
Hey, Ellis.
You're looking fine.
I'm always fine. I'm a horse.
You changed your hair.
It grew.
How's Craig?
He lost a tooth.
It wouldn't hurt if you came by
to see him every now and then.
I don't believe
I can do that, Norma.
Well, suit yourself.
You always have.
Give me a Coke.
You want a Coke?
Yeah.
Two, please.
Here, this is for hers.
All right.
Keep the change.
Here you go.
I climbed into the
backseat of his Cadillac
one rainy night six years ago,
stuck my feet out the back window,
and got little Craig off
that Southern gentleman.
He ain't done nothin'
worthwhile since.
Did you get married?
He didn't bother. I didn't bother.
My first affair, as I recollect it,
was with my Hungarian
piano teacher.
I was playing Smetana.
She put her head in my lap.
I played the hell out of that.
Next thing I knew, we
were in her bedroom.
Her husband came home and found us.
The poor guy burst into tears.
I said, "Hey, man, I'm sorry,"
and we all went into the kitchen
and had a glass of tea.
I'm always hassling
with some other guy.
That's how it seems.
What do you think of me, I wonder.
I think you're too smart for
what's happening to you.
I'm over here now.
I got the jump on you!
Come on, lady. Come on,
come on, come on!
Mark me down. Mark me down.
I'm over here now, lady!
Come on!
I'm over here.
Hey. lady!
What you waiting for, girl?
I'm over here now.
Come on, lady.
I'm over here now.
Come on, lady. Come on.
You damn fool!
You'll get us both
to lose our jobs!
I'll get it.
Hey.
I won't trouble you.
I just came to apologize.
I know I could have lost
you your job today.
You sure went crazy on me.
I know.
I got handed divorce
papers this morning.
I guess I went off my head.
Well,
things can get to you.
Would you come and
have a drink with me?
Just to make up for the ruckus.
I'm Sonny Webster.
You used to come in
my mama's bakery.
Sonny Webster?
Sonny Webster! I remember you.
You stood behind the cash register
and gave everybody the wrong change.
I never was too good at math.
You're telling me!
Sonny Webster! Golly!
How about that drink?
OK.
Just wait one minute.
I heard a man's voice.
I'm going out with him.
Where did you meet him?
Just now, on the front porch.
You're not going out.
Daddy, I'm over 21.
Let me say some names to you.
Buddy Wilson, Ellis Harper,
George Benson, a U.S. sailor.
None of which is looking after
you, as far as I can see.
It's my roof, my food.
You're always trying
to keep men off me.
Be grateful for your daddy's love.
You're loving me to death.
My needs are very much alive
Is it OK if I stop by
It's all wrong, but it's all right
It's all wrong, but it's all right
God darn, that lady can sing.
And her words are so true.
I like Elvis myself.
I wish I could make lots
of money by just wailing.
That don't necessarily
make them happy.
What does? What does? What does?
A man and a woman is
about your best chance.
Didn't you tell me you got a gun,
and you was gonna shoot your wife?
I was gonna burn them both down,
her and her boyfriend,
but I couldn't.
She was a real good person
when we went to school.
But then a change
had come over her.
It still really amazes me.
Listen.
I'm a lot different
from what I was.
I mean, you go through things.
Hey!
Hey!
New York! Hey, man!
Hey, buddy!
Come on over here!
We need anybody else?
The more the merrier.
Reuben!
Here you are with your papers!
Come on over.
Come on, Reuben.
Reuben, meet Sonny.
Sonny, this is Reuben
Warbershovsky.
Close! How are you?
Sit down! Take a load off.
What are you doing here?
I'm working.
Working?
This is a drinking place.
Can I pour you out one?
I'll just have some plain seltzer.
You're just drinking club soda?
You'll feel a whole lot better
than I will tomorrow morning.
Reuben's trying to put
a union in the mill.
But there ain't never been one.
Then maybe its time has come.
There better be more than one of you,
'cause there's more than one of them.
There will be.
Those big companies get
everything they want.
You getting tired of it?
Oh, when I do, I just
wash it down with a beer.
We never really got
right down to talkin'
Hey, you know what?
This song on the jukebox
was on the radio the
night they called me up
and told me my husband
had been killed
in a fight in a beer joint.
I knew Buddy Wilson in high school.
You did?
Yeah. Goll!
He was drunk,
and he got in a fight,
and he broke a beer bottle.
And then this other guy,
he had a broken beer bottle, too.
I went down to the funeral parlor
because I wanted to see him.
This old guy says
I shouldn't see Buddy
because he wasn't "prepared" yet.
I don't know.
I really just wanted to see him,
and my daddy wouldn't let me.
Well, that were the end of Buddy.
Far as that goes.
I'm going to drive.
I'll drive.
No, I'll drive.
No, no, gang.
This way.
I'm coming home with two men.
That will surprise the
hell out of my daddy.
He sure keeps a close watch on you.
Yeah. We're close.
He used to drive 250 miles
to take me down to Crescent Beach.
He'd buy me a chicken dinner.
We'd sleep in the back of the car.
We'd wake up that morning
and walk out on the sand.
He bought me this ring.
Reuben, would you
pull the car over?
I think I'm going to be sick.
Hang on.
Easy, easy.
You OK?
Come on.
I'd help, Norma, but I
think I'd give it up, too.
That was real ladylike of me.
I did bedpans one summer
at Stuyvesant Hospital.
One of these days,
I'll get myself together.
Well, make it soon.
Because one of these days,
I'm going to start in on you.
Read this when you can.
Got it down to two syllables.
One's better.
Good morning. Good morning.
Read this when you
have a chance, please.
Good morning, Norma Rae.
Hey, Lucius.
Morning, Linette.
Linette?
Hey, Billy Jo.
What the hell is going
on around here?
I'm talking to you!
Fink.
Well, shit!
Nobody's talking to me.
Less talk, more work.
They're my friends.
I'm quitting.
You're speeding them up
so you can weed them out.
You knew all that.
Yeah. I was greedy, and I was dumb.
You can fire me.
We'll put you back
in the weaving room.
Your family's been with
this mill a long time.
Good morning!
Morning.
Hey.
Hey.
We're all ready.
All of you?
All three of us.
Well, then, everybody hop in.
Millie, you can climb in yourself.
Now, be careful. Don't fall down.
What's your name, big guy?
Craig.
Put your feet on the floor!
Bye!
Bye, Mama.
Bye, Grandma!
I want to sit up front.
Are we there yet?
No, you silly willy.
We just started off.
I thought we were
going to the lake.
I got to make a stop.
You should have done
that before we started.
This is Alice.
She's mine.
Like I always say,
the more the merrier.
OK, watch what you're doing now.
Next time, you get
up there yourself.
You're sure easy with your kids.
I yell at them.
I swat them.
You're a pretty woman.
I was good at 18, but things
have slipped and slid.
You look all right to me.
Keep the lights low, I'm all right.
I'll take you where it's dark.
I've been there.
I don't owe a nickel in this town.
I'll eat anything
put in front of me.
I can fix anything electrical.
I'm all right after my
first cup of coffee.
I want that bad, though.
I got me a new job
at the gas station.
I turn my paycheck
over every Friday,
and I come straight home from work,
and I stay there.
Me and Alice, we're alone.
You got your two kids.
You're alone.
If you could help me,
maybe I could help you.
It's been a long
time between offers.
Kiss me.
If that's all right,
then everything else will be.
By the authority vested in me,
by this sovereign state,
I pronounce you man and wife.
If you like, you may
kiss the bride.
Mother over here has a
little homemade wine for us.
I picked the berries myself.
Thank you.
To my wife Norma Rae.
And, uh...
I just hope I can keep up with her.
Roscoe doesn't like it,
but I'm going.
I'm not asking anybody. I'm going.
On October 8, 1970, my grandfather,
Isaac Abraham Warshovsky, age 87,
died in his sleep in New York City.
On the following Friday
morning, his funeral was held.
My mother and father attended,
my two uncles from
Brooklyn attended,
and my Aunt Minnie
came up from Florida.
Also present were 862 members
of the amalgamated Clothing Workers
and the Cloth, Hat, and Cap
Makers' Union of America.
Also members of his family.
In death, as in life,
they stood at his side.
They had fought battles with him,
had earned bread together,
and had broken it together.
When they spoke, they
spoke in one voice,
and they were heard.
And they were black,
and they were white.
They were Irish,
and they were Polish.
They were Catholic,
and they were Jews.
And they were one.
That's what a union is, one.
Ladies and gentlemen,
the textile industry,
in which you are
spending your lives,
and in which your children
and their children
will spend their lives,
is the only industry
in these United States
that is not unionized.
They are free to exploit you
and to take away what
is rightfully yours.
Your health, a decent wage,
a fit place to work.
I urge you to stop them
by coming over to room 31
at the Golden Cherry Motel
to pick up a union
card and sign it.
Yes, it comes from the Bible.
"According to the
tribes of your fathers,
"ye shall inherit."
But it comes from
Reuben Warshovsky,
"Not unless you make it happen."
Thank you.
Thank you, Reverend.
Appreciate it.
Everybody should have come.
Next time.
If I have to drag them.
Hey.
When are you going to join?
Who's got the time?
Make the time.
I need help.
I appreciate any help
you can give me.
Licking stamps, stuffing envelopes,
typing with two fingers, anything.
I'll show up.
I'm here.
I'm ready to inspect your plant.
The federal government,
in accordance with federal
court order 7778,
states the following, "The
union has the right to inspect
"every bulletin board in the
mills at least once a week
"to verify that its notices
are not being stripped off."
Do you have a trash can?
Inside.
Keep America beautiful.
Downstairs.
Thank you.
Morning.
Morning.
Am I moving too quick for you?
I did my running in the army.
I'm not in the army now, brother.
If you're out of shape,
I'll slow down.
Keep it to a basic saunter.
Good morning.
I'm Reuben Warshovsky of the
Textile Workers' Union.
What is your name, brother?
Buffum.
How long have you worked here?
Twelve years.
Do you like your job?
I'd like to keep it.
You're interfering with the work.
Court order says you can't do that.
Well, then, brother,
let us both keep
to the letter of the law.
I ain't got no kike brother.
You didn't mean that.
I meant it.
Shit, do we have to fight?
The bulletin board's over here.
"Bulletin board's over here"!
Good morning.
Somebody's looking to
get into a car pool.
Somebody wants to
sell a basset pup.
You can pick pecans
for 40 cents a bushel
at Zelma Landing.
The only thing missing
is my notice.
It's there.
It is? I don't see it.
Ah, yes.
Wilt Chamberlain on stilts
could read that thing maybe.
Bring it down to eye
level, brothers.
We'll make note of your request.
Why do you guys pull
this horseshit?
I'll have to call my lawyers.
That's childish.
Where's the pay phone?
Hey!
Rick, bring it down.
Eye. Eye level.
Eye.
You ain't supposed to read it.
No union organizer has
been here for 10 years.
I'm reading it.
Well, read fast, then.
You go read the court order
that says any agent of this company
can be held in contempt.
I ain't violatin' no laws!
You're violating the law now!
Can we finish this?
Certainly.
Where's the other bulletin board?
In the weaving room.
Show it to me.
Rick!
Good morning. How are you?
Good morning.
Good morning to you. Good morning.
I'm Warshovsky, Textile
Workers' Union of America.
Good morning. Morning to you.
Good morning, ma'am.
Good morning.
Warshovsky, Textile
Workers' Union of America.
Good morning to you, ma'am.
Good morning.
I'm in room 31 of the
Golden Cherry Motel
if you have any questions.
Good morning.
Good morning to you.
Good morning.
Nice.
Gentlemen, your average
working man is not stupid.
He just gets tired.
You want to move this
out of here, please?
Move it. Move the stuff.
Hey, Reuben?
Hey.
You busy?
Yeah, very busy.
Can I come in?
Please.
Jeez, don't they ever
clean up around here?
I don't want them
messing with my stuff.
I know where everything is.
If I joined up with you,
would I lose my job?
No way.
You can wear a union button
as big as a Frisbee,
talk union, as long as
it's during a break,
and pass along union pamphlets.
They can't touch you.
I was never a very good Girl Scout.
I'll go along with you.
You're the fish I wanted to hook.
Well,
you got me.
What the hell you gonna do with me?
Make a mensch out of you, kid.
What is that?
Somebody who visits the old
folks' home on Saturday
instead of playing golf
or gives a blind man a
dollar for a pencil.
I'd do that.
But would you take the pencil?
Of course. I paid for it.
Somewhere between logic and charity
maybe there falls a little shadow?
Reuben...
We could debate this all night.
Sign this.
"Norma Rae Webster."
Everybody down here
has three names.
Let me pin this on you.
It would cover up the gravy spot.
What do I get if I do?
You don't get nothin' if you don't.
Besides, ain't you
had enough of that?
We used to heat up that
NCO club, remember?
Bygone days.
Then pin it on for bygone days.
Wayne, I'm proud of you.
Think we'll see that
club again, honey?
Take your wife. She
doesn't get out much.
Looks like you've strayed
off the reservation, Norma.
Is that right?
You got a coffee
machine at your end.
But no water fountain.
I cool down my coffee
before drinking it.
You'll cool everything!
Hey, Reverend.
Norma. You caught me
in my shirtsleeves.
Can we have some of your
flowers for Sunday?
Spider mites eating up everything.
OK.
Somehow I can help you, Norma?
How long I been coming
to this church?
Since you were little.
That's right.
I accepted Christ when
I was 6 years old.
Would you call me a good Christian?
With a lapse or two, yes.
With a lapse or two.
Are you a good Christian?
That's for the Lord to say.
I want this church for a
union meeting next Saturday.
That's blacks and whites
sitting together.
This is a house of God.
I'm waiting to see whether it is.
You're coming close to blasphemy.
I've come here to ask
God's forgiveness.
I want to see what this
church stands for,
and if you'll say there
should be justice, a union.
And if you don't,
there ain't nothin' good
for me in that church.
I'll leave it flat.
We're going to miss your
voice in the choir.
You'll hear it raised
up someplace else.
I'll be in in a minute.
We're holding a meeting,
union business.
Afterward we're having
lemonade and ginger snaps.
The shades are up. You can see in.
Washed my windows on Saturday.
You shouldn't have any trouble.
You're going too far.
How?
There's a bunch of
black men in there.
You'll get us in trouble.
I've never had trouble with
black men, only white men.
I remember some of
you from the church.
I did all of the talking that day.
Now I'd like you to speak.
Please.
A man's work should be a man's
work, not a term in jail.
Blacks have been pushed,
pulled, and scorned.
For what?
If everybody believes in
the union, I'm all for it.
Excuse me for saying
this with menfolks here,
but when I get menstrual cramps,
which come pretty hard,
they don't let me
sit down on my job.
You got to keep to your feet
unless you bring a
note from the doctor.
We wouldn't pretend to be sick.
I look at a brick wall all day.
There used to be a window there.
They brick it up to make
us feel we shut in.
My husband died of brown
lung two months ago.
His children are going
to grow up not even
knowing him.
I got all his clothes, if
someone could use them.
I'm not getting the message across.
17 people out of 800.
Well, you're an outsider.
Things move slow around here.
This isn't New York, where you
grab a taxi and grab your hat.
Craig's wetting the bed.
I told him not to drink Coke
before he went to sleep.
Craig?
Come on, sugar, wake up.
Get up.
Put your arms around my neck.
You got any ideas?
Get some corn whiskey.
We'll hit the back
roads on Saturday.
Are you finished, honey?
OK.
No more Cokes before
you go to sleep.
Mr. Robinson, how you doing today?
I'm busy.
I'm Norma Rae. You know me.
Yeah. How do you do?
This is my friend Reuben.
Nice to see you.
Read this, if you will, sir,
and I'll fix your tire.
How about that?
You've got a deal.
Can you do this?
Are you kidding?
Let's look like we can.
Watch your hand.
I think he was taking it off.
Are you making a baseball bat?
Hey, Joe. Will you
read one of these?
Jay, how you doing?
Will you read one?
Meet Reuben. He's a friend of mine.
How you doing, gentlemen?
Would you like to read one?
Elwood? Bob?
I'm not interested.
You're not interested in a union?
No.
You think you'll get a better
shake from management?
I always have.
Ow!
Damn glad you cut it.
That's telling him.
Hey, Robert.
Hi, Norma.
- We come out...
- Ah!
It's only grass and water.
We swam here as kids.
We'd leave school,
chuck off our clothes,
and jump in.
The only water hole I ever saw
was when we opened the
fire hydrant on 110th
with a wrench.
This is the life!
It's just a mud hole.
It's cooling off my mosquito bites.
It's as clean as I can get it.
Thank you.
Whoo!
It is hot.
I'm coming in.
Come on.
You know what?
An old farmer used to live
around here with a BB gun.
Sure hope he's moved.
Yeah. Me, too.
What's that? Something's
flicking around my...
Those are minnows.
Those are what?
Minnows. They won't hurt you.
They better not.
You're a fish out
of water down here.
It's not exactly my native habitat.
What would you do on a
day like this at home?
Play handball at the Y,
go see Aida at the Met.
Eat Chinese, play
poker, hit the sack.
I've been two places in my life.
I've been to Henleyville,
been to Piston.
Oh, you'd love New York.
You would, wow.
Super town.
Most beautiful women in the world,
best food, opera, theater, ballet.
Reuben.
What?
You're homesick.
Right.
God.
Reuben.
You got a skinny build.
Yeah?
Sonny works out with weights.
I tried that.
I dropped them and broke my foot.
Well,
you don't got to worry, because
you got a head on you,
and you use it.
What?
We got a bad connection, because
the line is being tapped.
Hey, you? This is
Norma Rae Webster.
I'm talking union to Henry Willis.
I'm on every night.
Same old story, no commercials.
Union, union, unions.
Look, have your boss man tap me.
Then you can go home
to your wife and kids.
Henry?
Shoot!
You ain't gettin' any sleep.
Neither am I.
We're working tomorrow morning.
I got 100 calls to make tonight.
Is that going on our phone bill?
We'll take it out of my paycheck.
That damn milk is sour!
I didn't have a chance
to go shopping.
And you didn't get to the washing,
or the kids, or to me!
Is that right?
That's right!
Damn TV dinners!
Kids going around in dirty jeans!
I'm going around, uh, without!
Altogether!
You want cooking?
You got cooking.
You want laundry?
You got laundry.
You want ironing?
You got ironing.
You want to make love?
You get behind me and lift up
my nighty, and we'll make love.
Norma.
Norma!
Hey.
Come this time. Don't
just nod your head.
Doris, come on. Bring
your peanut butter pie.
I heard your little
one's got the measles.
Keep him away from mine, will you?
Brenda, how's your new baby?
Get down to the Golden Cherry.
Hey, get down to the Golden Cherry.
Sue? Come on, read this, every
single word of it. It's important.
Come on down.
If I got the time, you do.
I don't bump into you much anymore.
You all right, Daddy?
About the same.
Your color's bad.
You been drinking?
Thimbleful now and then.
It's not good for you.
What's the difference?
I lie down and wonder
if I'll get up again.
Don't talk old. I don't like it.
Listen.
I'm coming over there
one of these nights
and take you out to a grand supper.
OK.
OK.
Has James gone back?
I guess so.
Where'd he go, home?
I don't know.
Jesus.
I ought to be going home, too.
Hey, how's Dorothy?
Terrific. Thanks.
I see you got a new picture of her.
You like it? My mother sent that.
She and your mother must
get along real well.
Are you kidding?
My mother loves her.
She's a lawyer, she's
Jewish, and a great cook.
What else is there?
How come she's so smart?
Dorothy?
Books.
Oh, madame, your dinner.
Le grand banana and a beer.
No.
Who's this?
Dylan Thomas.
He was a poet, genius, and a drunk.
What's he write about?
Love, sex, death, other
matters of consequence.
Is he hard to read?
Eh...
Eh...
So why should I bother?
Because maybe he has
something to say to you.
Open that, will you?
"Rage, rage against the
dying of the light."
Yeah?
Yeah.
Well, I'll try him.
Good.
Hell, there ain't nothin'
on TV but reruns anyway.
Don't eat while you read.
I hate banana in my books.
Kvetch, kvetch, kvetch.
Warren?
Warren?
Nobody showed up at the meeting.
They got us on a stretch-out.
Put us on a three-day week.
Twice the work for half the pay.
All on account of you.
You stand there for a minute.
Oh, man.
There's six turnips and two
quarts of water in there.
That's supper for seven people.
Sell your union someplace else.
Hey...
My arm's numb. I better lie down.
You got a break in 15 minutes.
I better go now.
Hang on. Your break's coming up.
In a minute, Lucius.
Mavis, Rhonda.
Hey, Betty.
You're supposed to be here at 3:15.
It's 4:15. Working for
this union or not?
I got my tooth filled.
You were getting your
beer gut filled!
Chew your old man out. Get off me.
I'm giving 9, 10, 12
hours here every day.
We're doing our share of work.
Either do your share or don't
call yourself a union member!
Norma! Shut your cake hole.
Out of the office.
I only said what was true.
Out.
Come on.
Peter.
Get to work. Come on.
Everybody back to work.
Mouth.
You can't come down
that hard on a man.
Leave him his balls. Easy. Jesus.
If you were in the state
department, we'd be at war.
- All right. I got a big mouth.
- Um-hmm.
Cotton mill workers are
known as trash to some.
The union's the only way
we'll get our own voice
and make ourselves any better.
I guess that's why I push.
Our own Mother Jones.
Who's she?
She was some considerable lady.
She made it happen for the
coal miners in West Virginia.
You ain't mad at me?
If the situation ever called for
a smart, loud, profane,
sloppy, hard-working woman,
I'd pick you every time, kid.
How come sloppy? Nobody
wears girdles anymore.
I didn't order anything.
Well, hey, you ate it!
What do you want?
Warshovsky around?
Reuben's at the printer's.
Pretty late for the printer's.
Reuben keeps them working late.
You're Norma Rae, aren't you?
Huh?
I'm Mrs. Webster.
We're from the union
national headquarters.
Al London, Sam Dankin.
Is that right?
I might as well give
you my shopping list.
We need envelopes, stamps.
We're almost out of typing paper.
How about some typewriters
that don't stick?
We're not in office
supplies, Mrs. Webster.
You aren't around much, either.
Hello, Reuben.
Sam, you're getting fat.
I've gained a couple pounds.
Al, how are you?
Lousy. I got a cold.
What brings you guys?
You're not getting up a
head of steam, Reuben.
You know what I'm up against.
We're worried.
That makes three of us.
It's a small,
Southern Baptist town.
You got to keep your
nose very clean.
Why? You see any snot in mine?
Maybe Mrs. Webster
would like to leave?
Why?
This concerns her.
I'm making it easy on her...
It's late. What do you want?
If the company wants
us to look bad,
they'll use anything
to make us look bad.
The mill hands go to
church every Sunday.
She's talking union to them?
They say she's made a porno movie
with a local police
officer, very explicit.
Run it for me.
There doesn't have to be a movie,
if people talk like there's one.
The lady has an illegitimate child.
She's slept around.
She naps on your bed.
Are we in the union business or the
character assassination business?
After an 18-hour day, I got
the Legion of Decency here!
She's broken her ass
for this organization!
She doesn't see her kids!
Doesn't have time for bath!
Is this the Catholic Church?
Are we canonizing her?
It's your game.
You're damn right!
Make it stick or get out!
Get out anyway!
I'm sorry, Mrs. Webster.
I don't want to hurt the
union. I'll quit if you want.
Weren't you supposed
to be typing letters?
Yeah.
Hey. It's me, Norma.
OK, it's I, Norma.
Forget the grammar.
We got to talk.
Maybe we could meet at my break.
OK.
I was making sure my kids
got home from school.
Your kids are with my
kids buying candy.
That's why dentist
bills is busting me!
Uh!
Come on! Come on, boy!
Come here, boy!
You thinking union?
You want union? You'll get union.
Break it up! Break it up!
Break it up!
You all right?
Yeah.
What started this?
They put up a letter saying
blacks are taking over the union,
that they're going to
push the whites around.
We'll take legal action.
Get me the letter.
They're watching me.
How's your memory?
I don't know the
pledge of allegiance.
Write down a line at a time.
It's like the time
I pinched a lipstick.
Did you get caught?
I went back for curlers.
"Dominate it
"and control it
"as you may
"see fit.
"If now...
"if now..."
Damn! Damn, damn, damn!
"...you black employees,
by joining the union,
"can dominate it and control it
"as you may see fit.
"If..."
Where's the rest?
That's all I could get.
Mata Hari.
They watched us every minute.
Here's our chance to nail them.
Don't tell me you can't remember.
You copy it line for line.
You get the date and signature.
I'll get fired.
I'll run you a benefit.
Thanks a lot.
Want a massage?
Go to a massage parlor.
Either we get beat,
or we don't get beat.
I got three kids, bills,
and an unhappy husband.
I'll do it, but keep off my back.
Reuben, I'll tell you something.
What?
You've been away from home
and you're getting crabby.
Reuben, you need yourself a woman.
Funny you should mention it.
Tonight's the night.
What would Dorothy say?
"Wear a rubber."
You can't copy this!
It's on the board.
I'm going to copy it!
You better not.
I'm taking down every word!
It's my break!
I'm copying every word!
Stay out of my way!
I'm copying it!
Hello, Norma.
You know who I am.
Put the pencil and paper away.
Stop it right now.
You're going to leave!
The law's going to come after you!
Mr. Mason, I started this,
and I'm going to finish it.
"Serious violence."
Let's go to my office.
Why did you make personal
calls on company time?
Spell out your names for me.
Don't be foolish, Norma Rae.
Nobody here is on my side,
and I'm not leaving until I
set down all your names.
I want you off the premises now!
Phone your husband!
Have him fetch you!
I want you out quick!
Norma Rae.
Forget it!
I'm staying put!
Right where I am!
It's going to take you,
the police department,
the fire department,
and the National Guard
to get me out of here!
I'll wait for the sheriff
to take me home!
And I ain't gonna budge
till he gets here!
Come on down now, Norma Rae.
Come on down, now.
You heard what I said. Come down.
Lamar.
I want you to put it in writing
that Sheriff Lamar Miller
is going to take Norma Rae
Webster straight home.
I want you to sign it,
and I want you to hand it to me.
Don't tell me what to do.
You're getting nothing
from me in writing.
You want her off the premises?
Take her out.
I'm not sure I should
get in the same car
with you and nobody else.
Lamar, I ain't gonna bite you.
A police car?
You're taking me to jail!
No! No! No!
Quit that now!
No! No!
You're going to jail!
No!
Get her in there.
No! No!
No!
Get in there now!
No!
Get her in.
Get in there.
No!
Ahhh!
No!
Webster, Norma Rae.
704 Priester Road, Henleyville.
She's white.
Female, 31.
Occupation, textile.
Fair complexion, brown
hair, brown eyes.
Arrest number, 2238B.
Charge, disorderly conduct.
Norma Rae, you go with her now.
Might as well sit down.
You got one phone call.
Better call Sonny.
I'll be calling my union organizer.
The first time you're in is bad.
It comes with the job.
I saw a pregnant woman
on a picket line
get hit in the stomach with a club.
I saw a boy of 16 get
shot in the back.
I saw a guy blown to hell and back
when he tried to start his car.
You just got your
feet wet on this one.
Norma, you all right?
I put the kids to bed.
Craig?
Honey, wake up.
It's Mama.
I want to talk to you. Come on.
Put your arms around my neck.
Alice, Millie, wake up.
I want to talk to you, sweetheart.
Come in the living room.
Come on. Atta girl.
I love you kids.
That's the first thing.
And Sonny loves you.
You got the both of us.
The second thing is
I'm a jailbird.
Now, you're going
to be hearing that
and a lot of other things.
But you're going to
hear it from me first.
Millie.
Your daddy.
His name was Buddy Wilson.
He died four months
after you was born.
Craig.
I wasn't never married
to your daddy.
And he wasn't Buddy.
And he's not Sonny.
He's another man.
And there have been
others in my life.
You're going to be
hearing about them, too.
I'm not perfect.
I made mistakes.
Millie, these are
pictures of your daddy.
Craig, I got pictures
of your daddy.
They belong to you.
If you go in the mill,
I want life to be better
for you than it is for me.
That's why I joined the union,
and that's why I got fired for it.
You understand me?
Now, you kids,
you know what I am.
And you know that I believe
in standing up for
what I think is right.
Go to the bathroom
before you get into bed.
Take your pictures.
Go on.
I'll take a bath.
There's lice in that jail.
She had one call,
and she called you.
She knew I could make bail.
You come in here,
you mix her up, turn
her head all around.
She's all changed.
I didn't want her to
be a front-runner.
What's going to happen to us now?
She stood on the table.
She's a free woman.
Maybe you can live with it.
Maybe you can't.
Busted my shoelace.
There's another one in the drawer.
I busted that one last week.
Did you ever sleep with him?
No.
But he's in my head.
I'm going to see you
through getting tired,
getting sick,
getting old.
I'm going to see you through
anything that comes up.
And there's nobody else in my head.
Just you.
Folks, ballots tabulated for
the O.P. Henley Company,
against the union, 373.
Folks,
the count for the union, 427.
We got it in!
Union! Union! Union! Union!
Union! Union! Union!
Union! Union! Union!
Union! Union! Union! Union!
Union! Union! Union!
Union! Union! Union!
Union! Union! Union!
Union! Union! Union!
Union! Union! Union!
You going to drive
straight through?
Yes.
You better stop for
coffee, stay awake.
I got a thermos in the car.
Well...
Well?
Well.
Well.
Ah, so.
What are you going to do now?
Live. What else?
Drop me a line once in a while.
Anyone read your mail?
My mother.
I'll send you a copy
of Dylan Thomas.
I already bought one for myself.
You did?
Nobody can do anything
for you, huh?
You've done something
for me, a lot.
Well, you did something for us.
A mitzvah.
- What's that?
- What is that?
That's a good work.
I don't say good-bye.
I have been known to cry.
- Well, what do you say?
- Ahhh...
Be happy.
Be well.
Same to you.
Best wishes don't
seem hardly enough.
I...
I'd like to thank you.
I do.
I thank you for your companionship,
your stamina,
your horse sense, and 101 laughs.
I also enjoyed very much
looking at your shining hair
and your shining face.
Reuben, I think you like me.
I do.
I was going to buy you something,
but I didn't know what you'd like.
Norma, what I've had from
you has been sumptuous.
Bless the child of a workin' man
She knows too soon who she is
And bless the hands of a workin' man
He knows his soul is his
So it goes like it goes
Like the river flows
And time, it rolls right on
And maybe what's good
Gets a little bit better
And maybe what's bad gets gone
And it goes like it goes
Like the river flows
And time keeps rollin' on
And maybe what's good
Gets a little bit better
And maybe what's bad Gets gone