Norma Rae characterizes the leadership skills of a New York male labor organizer and a southern female textile factory worker.  Both characters exhibit leadership qualities, one in particular the ability to empower others to accomplish the overall goal of organizing a group of powerless textile factory workers.  Students observe as each empowers the other, and focus on the techniques each use to accomplish this all-important leadership task.  In addition, students are given the opportunity to contrast the  effects of an authoritarian leadership style and democratic leadership style.
        In Norma Rae, based on a real life story, Ron Leibman plays the Jewish labor leader from New York who recognizes Norma's guts and boundless energy, despite the town's resistance both religiously and culturally - old ways of thinking die hard. This film is so  accurate in its portrayal of the battle between a big corporation's greed versus the underdog's spiritual values. Norma has her union flyers confiscated and is arrested unjustly. She must explain to her small children why their mother is called a "jailbird" at their school. She marries on a whim a recently divorced Beau Bridges,but the romance gets rocky when Norma becomes consumed with the labor union and admits the New York labor leader "is always in my head." Norma scores a victory in the movie, when her battle cry draws others to her cause. In real life, it took several years before the textile mills became organized enough to help textile workers.

            Norma Rae is a southern textile worker employed in a factory with intolerable working conditions. This concern about the situation gives her the gumption to be the key associate to a visiting labor union organizer. Together, they undertake the difficult, and possibly dangerous, struggle to unionize her factory.
She is a lively, but dependable, widow and mother in an Alabama milltown. Like her father, her mother and most of her friends, she works at the Henley mill, spinning and weaving cloth as the days go by without much apparent purpose. Her "nothing special" life changes when she and her coworkers meet Reuben, a dedicated, smart-mouthed labor organizer down from New York to teach the Henley crew about solidarity in a place where workers and owners alike think "union" and "trouble" are synonomous.
            This film is  not a documentary, but the filming style and plot line lend to its feeling so. Sally Field's acting in this movie is believable and excellent. She becomes Norma Rae.I saw her fear, her disgust, her anger at the mill's treatment of its employees, and the passion she has for what she believes in. Although the best known scene from the movie is her standing at the mill with the "Union" sign, the most memorable scene is towards the end when she talks to her children, telling them what to expect. The movie tends to turn away from her children, but this scene focuses in on her relationship with them. Beau Bridges is the character of the Union leader is terrific.
 
 
 
 

"Norma Rae" Sally Fields  is a woman who worked at the O.P.H. Hentley Textile Mill. The role is especially nice because it is a true story about a woman who took a stand against her employers who violated labor law regulations.  The noise in the factory was so bad that everybody had to yell and wear ear protection. I am so glad I don't have to work in such a noisy place. Norma Rae joined the union and got the company to unionize by challenging the audience to fight for what they believe it is right. . . "Ruben", Ron Leibman (Night Falls on Manhattan, Friends) the man behind the organization of the unionization of the mill, and Norma had a great relationship in the movie. The story is a very good and believable. I watched the movie when it came out and watched it again on television a couple of days ago. Her employers made her pay dearly for her standing for what she believes in. I identify with the character very much. I have been in similar situations many times, not because I am a whistle blower but because I tend to be altruistic.  I recommend this movie! Favorite Scenes:  Norma telling her kids about her past. Norma holding up the sign: Union, and all the employees turning their machines off one by one. That is fabulous! Made me cheer! When Ruben forces the employer to put signs which states the rights of the employees at the eye level so that workers could read them.

Favorite quotes: Ruben: " If you were in the State Department we would be in a war."  When Norma says good bye to Ruben, she blurts out ": I think you like me!"