Coming from coal mining country myself, this one is painful to watch. Great documentary about the struggles between coal miner and coal operators, and of course the union. In the end it's really sad to see the miners settle for pretty much nothing. Watch it!

5 stars all the way. hulu, I hope you will renew this film so that more people can see it. Absolutely a gem and the best I've watched on here. Great coverage of women, too.This Academy Award Winning documentary, filmed the year I was born, could not be more relevant today, 35 years later. As entire communities are being poisoned by drinking water polluted by coal extraction --- as the "fracking" process to extract natural gas creates water so toxic that it is flammable straight from the tap --- as we demand cheap oil for our cars but pay billions (and end hundreds of thousands of lives) for wars in foreign lands to protect our "cheap oil" --- as energy and utility companies nation-wide are now installing wireless "smart meters" to every home and public building that are making people seriously ill and whose technology is linked with many ill effects including cancer --- as the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan continues to spew radiation that is being detected all over the globe, while in the U.S. many of the nuclear reactors are now operating well past their life-expectancy, and several along fault lines or else easy targets for terrorist/war attack --- and as we continue to place our energy needs and our executives' profits over the health and safety and rights of ALL living things, we must stand in solidarity with each other and fight for a better way. We must question our greed and our assumptions regarding cheap energy. There is no such thing! There is a huge cost to human life and the planet that sustains it. In this film, in 1976, one man per day died for cheap coal! Appalling! The price is even higher now, as millions have died (have been killed) for natural resources and will continue to be killed so that a few (mostly) white men can get rich on the backs of everybody else, all under the guise of "cheap" energy. It is GREED, plain and simple. In honor of these brave men and women of Harlan County, USA, we must commit to use less resources, we must demand clean, renewable energy, we must demand public transportation, we must demand worker's rights, and we must demand protection for the planet that sustains us. This is a great documentary following just the type of people that can inspire us to do so. Keep up the good fight!

My first hourly job was in 1977 and I made $1.15 ph. The company my husband works in now is non-union and I wish it was!

In 1973 I was 18 years old and making $2:50 an hour. This documentary was interesting to see how things have changed - and haven't. I've been hourly ( both union and non ) and I've been salary. My experience has been :
The company pays you to screw you or you pay the union to screw you, Either way, you get screwed.Regardless, I admire the single minded resolve of the woman ( Sudie Crusenberry ) speaking at 59 minutes & 52 seconds. America needs more people like that.