In the documentary film Harlan County, USA, the primary controversy discussed is the miners' strike at the Brookside Mine in Harlan County in 1972. The striking miners wished to have fairer labor treatment and working conditions, while the company was willing to give them what they demanded only in exchange for a clause that stipulated they could not strike again. While both sides came to blows frequently, I believe wholeheartedly that the miners had a much greater case for legitimacy than the Duke Power Company. It is a fundamental right in America to have fair working conditions and the ability to support one's family through work; the denial of the Duke Power Company of these privileges as if they were not warranted meant that the workers were living in squalor. While there are many people who feel as though the strikers were "whining," and that they should stop, I do not believe it is wrong to fight for what you deserve, especially when there is someone deliberately withholding it from you. The miners were working for those benefits, and they should have been accorded to them.
I believe that a combination of stubbornness and greed often prevent people from coming to compromises. Once a group has sufficient power, they will do whatever they can to refrain from relinquishing that power. In the case of Duke, they felt they did not have to pay the workers what they needed to survive, and wanted to suppress their ability to ask for what they needed. While I understand their position, it is necessary to exhibit compassion and do what is required to allow one's workers to live off a decent wage (not deny them cost of living bonuses that would leave them destitute).
References
Kopple, B (dir). (1976). Harlan County, USA. First Run Features.
