The threatened Rail Strike and subsequent Congressional intervention last week illustrates the importance of the rights of workers to organize. In addition the UAW supported strike — aimed at protecting the rights of academic workers at 10 University of California campuses — shows the need for deeper understanding of the history and role of unions.

The documentary film Brothers on the Line tells the important story of prominent Labor organizers the Reuther brothers and their efforts to build the union movement that remade the Auto Industry and America.

Brothers on the Line is now available from Bullfrog Films for DSL, and can be licensed for academic streaming from Docuseek.

Brothers On The Line

A film by Sasha Reuther

81 minutes | English SDH captions | Scene Selection

Streaming Release Date: 2022

Copyright Date: 2012

Now Available for Streaming and DSL from Bullfrog Films

Narrated by Martin Sheen, Brothers On The Line is an award-winning documentary feature exploring the extraordinary journey of the Reuther brothers — prolific union organizers who led an army of laborers into an epic struggle for social justice.

At the height of the Great Depression, a new industrial revolution came to life in Michigan’s colossal car factories. Taking a stand against oppressive conditions, young autoworkers Walter, Roy, and Victor Reuther faced intimidation and physical violence from “security” agents in their effort to coordinate sit-down strikes, the most successful occurring at the General Motors facilities in Flint. Their bold rhetoric and actions challenged the mighty automakers, won unprecedented quality-of-life gains, gave a voice to the rank-and-file, and established the United Auto Workers (UAW) as one of the most powerful unions in American history.

Directed by Victor Reuther's grandson Sasha, and featuring evocative archival footage, a pulsating soundtrack, as well as first-hand accounts from labor, management, and political personalities including one of the last interviews with Senator Ted Kennedy, Brothers On The Line is a stirring personal story of sacrifice, perseverance, triumph, and tragedy. The odyssey of the Reuther brothers resonates far beyond their era. It remains an influential and often controversial 40-year crusade that contributed to building a robust middle class while compelling American democracy to live up to its promise of equality.

“Powerful…Searing…A concise and moving story…It needs to be told to every generation.”

—The New York Times

“Brothers On The Line is an intimate and honest portrait of the Reuther brothers’ deep commitment - visionary, courageous, passionate, shrewd, and ruthless - to organizing auto workers into the most powerful and influential U.S. labor union in the 20th century. This excellent labor history documentary includes a rich array of archival footage depicting daring and fearless industrial workers fighting to build working class power in the face of violent corporate repression. It a gem of an educational tool that is mandatory viewing in my labor history class”

—Gene Carroll, Cornell ILR School Worker Institute Fellow, and Adjunct Faculty, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

"Highly Recommended…Remarkable work that provides insight on both the national implications of the American labor movement from its inception, and the personal details of the lives of key players…A simply perfect assembly of historical evidence."

—Educational Media Reviews Online

To order a DSL license of Brothers On The Line for educational use,

visit the Bullfrog Films online catalog.

Order by phone at (610) 779-8226

or email us at info@bullfrogfilms.com

Bullfrog Films is the oldest and largest publisher of documentary films about the environment in the United States. We define "environment" broadly, and our catalog includes programs on ecology, energy, agriculture, indigenous peoples, women's studies, environmental justice, international relations, sustainable development, anthropology, economics, ethics, and conflict resolution.