''American Standoff'' is a 2002 American

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

by Kristi Jacobson which documents much of a

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

by the

Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the un ...

against a package delivery company, Overnite Transportation (now a subsidiary of

United Parcel Service United Parcel Service (UPS, stylized as ups) is an American multinational shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company specializing in telegraphs, UPS has grown t ...

). The film follows the strike from early 2000 to mid-2001.

Synopsis

The Teamsters' strike against Overnite began on October 24, 1999. James P. Hoffa had been elected president of the Teamsters in the fall of 1998, and had campaigned on a promise to unionize Overnite and securing a contract for its 13,000 workers. The Teamsters represented only a fraction of Overnite's workers, but believed they could use other means to win company recognition of the union. Initially, about 2,000 workers walked the

picket line A picket line is a horizontal rope along which horses are tied at intervals. The rope can be on the ground, at chest height (above the knees, below the neck) or overhead. The overhead form is usually called a high line. A variant of a high li ...

in 12 states. The strike turned violent, however, and both sides accused the other of

bribery Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Co ...

spying Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

, intimidation and more. By August 2002, only 300 to 600 workers remained on strike. The Teamsters called the strike off without securing a contract or union recognition. ''American Standoff'' focuses primarily on two Teamster members and a staff organizer and how they are affected by the strike. However, the film roves over the entire United States, visiting Memphis,

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- m ...

, and

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

. The strike is placed in the context of Hoffa's struggle to secure his political base within the Teamsters' union. Hoffa not only faced political attacks from union reformers but also from other union leaders who believed they could unseat the newly elected president in the 2002 election. The internecine struggle for power in the Teamsters limits the effectiveness of the union's response, although Hoffa appears to emerge strengthened.Ross, "INTERVIEW: Behind The Strike Lines: 'American Standoff' Director Kristi Jacobson Chronicles the Teamsters," ''IndieWire,'' June 7, 2002. The film concludes in mid-2001, with the strike still lingering, workers increasingly disenchanted, and the union struggling to find an acceptable exit strategy.

Critical reception

''American Standoff'' was financed in part by

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television, premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office busi ...

. The cable network aired the documentary on June 10, 2002, on its " America Undercover" series.

Sheila Nevins Sheila Nevins (born April 6, 1939) is an American television producer and head of MTV Documentary Films division of MTV Studios. Previously, Nevins was the President of HBO Documentary Films. She has produced over 1,000 documentary films for HB ...

of HBO took an executive producer credit on the film. Critical reviews of the film were qualified, but generally positive. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film) ...

's'' review was typical: "''Standoff'', produced by two-time Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple and directed by protegee Kristi Jacobson, lacks the extraordinary clarity of Kopple's 1991 "American Dream." But pic still packs an emotional wallop, dwelling effectively on the pain and confusion of strike organizers as they run out of options." The documentary also screened at the 2002

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

References

* Rosen, Jody.
A Pal to Stars, Mobsters and Other Crumb Bums
''New York Times.'' September 17, 2007.

External links

* * ttp://www.hbo.com/docs/ HBO America Undercover site {{HBO documentaries 2002 films 2000s English-language films International Brotherhood of Teamsters Documentary films about labor relations in the United States HBO documentary films 2002 documentary films 2000s American films