Democracy at Work

Stanley Hawes & Fred Lasse,
1944,
18 min

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Synopsis
Point Of View

This short documentary was made near the end of World War II to introduce the subject of the need for labour-management committees. Government and industry in Canada were looking to a post-war era where production would have to be converted to peacetime. The objective was to improve productivity by reducing absenteeism, workplace accidents and keeping morale high.

From the playlist : Manifesto for Interventionist Media - because Art is a Hammer

Manifesto Point # 9: Track the process, the results and spend time disseminating what you’ve learned with multiple communities: professionals, academics, filmmakers, media, general public, advocates, critics and students. Democracy at Work is a curious short film made at the end of the Second World War, which seeks to prepare the country for transition into peace after war. It encourages the creation of management-labour committees to aid factory production to move from war efforts into an economy built on peace.

— Katerina Cizek