The Passaic Textile Strike (film)

Reels 1 and 2 of the film, "The Prologue," present a melodramatic depiction of the life of a fictional Polish worker, Stefan Breznac, who comes to Passaic from Europe in 1907.

The "big boss" of the mill, a fictional German capitalist named Mr. Mulius, takes a fancy to the teenager and makes her his assistant at a raise of wages so as to win her confidence.

Two months later, Vera discovers that Mr. Mulius is married and is abruptly terminated, leaving the family again in dire financial straits.

Stefan finally sees the light and urges his fellows to form a union, but dies two days later, leaving his widow Kada as the sole breadwinner for the household.

Historian Philip S. Foner recounts: The film then showed the strikers braving police clubs and shotguns, fire hoses in zero weather and tear gas bombs.

The huge mass meetings, with ten thousand workers participating, were shown with the strike leaders and other speakers addressing the strikers.