Salt of the Earth

At last, an honest movie about American working people

Directed by Herbert J. Biberman

Produced by Independent Production Company (IPC)

A socially conscious labor drama that uses a mining strike to examine both class exploitation and gender inequality, grounded in the lived experience of Mexican-American workers.

At New Mexico's Empire Zinc mine, Mexican-American workers protest the unsafe work conditions and unequal wages compared to their Anglo counterparts. Ramon Quintero helps organize the strike, but he is shown to be a hypocrite by treating his pregnant wife, Esperanza, with a similar unfairness. When an injunction stops the men from protesting, however, the gender roles are reversed, and women find themselves on the picket lines while the men stay at home.