Hey, hurry up. Let's go.
All right, boys, all I need is one guy.
You!
You're big enough. What's your name?
Dombrowsky, Sir.
Huh?
Dombrowsky, Sir. I'm Polish.
Polish! All right, get in there, Polack.
Sorry, boys, that's enough.
One more.
Come on.
My name is Mr. Gant.
Payday is every Friday.
All right, now,
You stay here as long as I want you to.
If the, uh, delivery don't get here
until 10:00 at night, you stay till 10:00,
but you only get paid 8 hours, period.
If you get sick, that's too bad.
Do you understand?
Yes, Sir, Mr. Gant.
And if you drop any of the stuff,
If you ruin the merchandise, that's out of your pay.
It's company policy.
Yes, Sir.
All right, boys, we've got a lot stuff coming in.
Roll it out!
Kovak, I want you to put Mr. Dombrowsky here to work.
Hey, Kovak,
that don't belong to you.
We get in there at 5:00,
get out at 7:00,
end up working 14 hours.
Work 14 and you get paid for 8.
It's a living.
It's crap.
It's a crap life, that's what it is.
It's a job, Johnny.
To you it's a job. To me it's crap.
I've been working hard all day,
and I don't need to be hangin' around with no sour bohunk.
And they got this buzzer, ma.
Buzzer?
Buzzer, buzzer, buzzer, bzz, buzzer.
They got this buzzer.
Someday I wanna tear that buzzer out
by the roots and give it to you.
Don't break nothing!
They pay you the money.
We're gonna buy mansions up in the heights, right, Abe?
Big heights.
Come on, all the companies got buzzers.
You're a lot of help.
Don't start trouble, Johnny.
Give it to him, ma.
Always some trouble. Your friends never complain.
That's right. He never complains.
What's the matter with you?
Your pa,
he never complained.
Oh, kiss my buzzer, will you?
Dombrowsky, you havin' trouble with your back?
No, Sir, Mr. Gant.
Then take more of those crates.
Kovak, load him up.
Come on. Come on.
He can take more than that. More.
All right, now keep moving.
We haven't got all day.
That's 4 crates of tomatoes out of your pocket, Polack.
- The company says... - But you made me put 'em there, Sir.
You break 'em, you pay for 'em.
That's company policy.
Did you hear me?
I heard you, Sir.
All right.
Get down there and pick 'em up, boy.
And hurry it up. We're runnin' late.
Come on, we'll get 'em up.
Belkin! Put the good ones in here.
Get back to work.
Put the bad ones in here.
That's bad. Bad.
What do you guys think you're doin'?
Get back to work! All of you!
Samuels.
Didn't you hear me?
Samuels.
Samuels, you're fired!
Get your voucher, you're through.
I...I didn't hear you, Mr. Gant.
Get out! Get out! You're fired!
Johnny.
Tell him, Johnny,
I didn't hear him. I didn't.
Don't you think you'd better get this fish inside
before it spoils?
What's it to you, Mac?
The name's Monahan, Mike Monahan.
Why don't you mind your own business?
It is my business.
It's gonna spoil if you don't get it inside.
What do we care?
I want the wagon unloaded.
Why don't you come up here and do it yourself?
Well, I'm the driver. Hey!
Well, it's not my job either.
What are you guys trying to pull?
You know where that stuff goes. Get it inside!
We don't need any lazy bastards
around here, you hear me, Belkin?
And you too, Kovak. You're another...
you call me a bastard, I'll lay you out.
Eh.
Well, I guess a job don't mean nothin' to a rich man like you.
That's out of your pay, Kovak.
What the hell do you think you're doin'?
I wanna see boss Andrews.
I'll give you Andrews. You're fired, Kovak!
You get the hell out of here!
Go get Andrews!
Andrews! Andrews!
Andrews! Andrews! Andrews!
I'm glad you told me about this.
You've got some legitimate complaints.
Let's agree on this.
From now on,
Gant here can't fire anyone without my approval.
How's that?
Well, how about havin' to pay for something you dropped by accident?
From now on, anything that's accidentally damaged,
you don't have to pay for.
What about overtime?
Being paid waiting for deliveries?
I won't lie to you. That's out of my hands.
I'll have to talk to my superiors.
All right?
We'll try to be fair.
But to be fair all around,
you fellows will go back to work
and move that load inside, right away.
Wait, wait, how...how do we know you're gonna talk to 'em
about the extra pay? How do we know that?
You have my word.
By the way, Mr. Kovak, I'd like to praise you
for bringing this matter to my attention.
The problems will be corrected.
Do we have a deal?
The idea is not to go back to work until the...
I'll go along with Johnny.
Ok.
All right, we got a deal.
Here's to Johnny Kovak!
No, no. Lincoln Dombrowsky!
Abe Lincoln!
How about another round?
Looky there, here's a new face.
What's your name? Another round?
Another round.
Put it around, Johnny. Put it around,
Yeah, you break it,
you pay for it.
Look at those rosy cheeks. Are you Irish?
What of it? What of it?
Why don't you take your hands off of me,
and be a gentleman like your friend here?
Oh!
Gentleman, are my hands no good?
You're a gentleman?
Hey, Johnny! You come on now,
we wrestle.
Come on, for a nickel.
Well I'll tell you, Jugs, it's been kind of a hard day,
but Abe is feeling good.
you wanna wrestle Jugovich?
Come on, come on. Come on. Come on.
Come on, Abe.
Ok. All right. Put it down here.
Come on, put the nickel down.
Who's on me?
- Come on. - Go on.
I don't wanna hurt you, Jugs.
I think you need a little bit more arm there, Abe.
Get it down there.
All right. Zigi, you ready.
Ok, fellows. Are you ready?
Start it, Zig.
Go!
Look who is here: Vince Doyle!
And look at that big-shot suit he's got on.
Mm-mm-mmm.
You slumming, Vince?
No, I just got a little business
to talk over with Zigi here.
Hey, Vince, you hear about us at the company?
Listen, Vince, Johnny had their backs to the wall.
We almost had a walkout.
We won, Vince.
What did you win, kid?
Zigi, set these guys up.
Anything wrong, Johnny?
The buzzer?
The buzzer.
- Come on! - Where's Johnny?
Hey, Johnny!
They won't let us in, John.
Number 7, number 8, number 9.
What's goin' on here?
What are you doing here?
Hey Samuels, where you going?
I gotta work, Johnny.
Hey, I wanna get... I wanna see Andrews.
Well, well, well,
Mr. Kovak wants to see Mr. Andrews. That's right, Gant.
Well, Mr. Kovak, Mr. Andrews is out of town.
But he left a little message for you.
You're fired! All of you!
Fired?
The winner.
Who asked you, Vince?
So you gotta go out and try to save the world, huh, kid?
You know, it cost me $20 to get you out.
He said we had a deal.
A deal? Christ, Johnny.
You don't go screwin' around with those people.
You got no push.
He shook my hand, Vince.
He shook my hand, he said we had a deal.
Yeah, sure.
Listen, kid, why don't you come to work for me?
We'll make an honest buck together, hmm?
Always lookin' out for me, ain't you, Vince?
What's the matter, you need another stooge?
Johnny, rest it, will you? Relax.
You don't understand this, Vince.
Johnny, come on.
Hey, kid.
Johnny! Come on!
¶ roll out the barrel ¶
Well, come on, you guys, cheer up a little.
Thanks, Molly.
¶ We've got the blues on the run ¶
Ah, hiya, Johnny, do you remember me?
I'm, uh, Mike Monahan.
I delivered that load of fish
at Fleckner Foods the other night.
Yeah, the fish guy. What do you want?
Oh, I was thinkin' maybe you're lookin' for a job.
You did, huh?
What kind of work?
Well, you see, I'm the president
of the Federation of Interstate Truckers,
local 302, Johnny.
The president is here.
- You heard of it? - No. I...
He's talkin' about the union.
Well, it's, uh, it's not much of one, uh.
You mind if I, uh, sit down?
You know, I figure we got about a 100 guys right now.
Look, Johnny, I...I don't know
how you feel about unions, but I...I saw you at Fleckner's
and, well, you got a way with men.
Yeah, I did a lot for 'em. Come on.
Well, look now, the companies we work for
are filled with, uh, creeps like your Mr. Andrews.
You know, they smile, and then they stick it to you.
What do you want me to do about it?
I want you to come to work for us as an organizer.
You go out to the warehouses
and sign up as many guys as you can.
What about my lawyer here? We work together. This guy.
I think you both got a job.
How much?
Why, I can't pay you nothing.
But I'll give you a...a commission
for every guy you sign up.
Look, I don't know nothing about trucks, Monahan.
Well, I'll show you everything. I'm not interested.
You'll get an office.
We might have a chance to get even.
He ain't paying nothin', Abe.
And you get a car.
Get a car?
Anna! Anna, you remember me?
From the Christmas dance last year.
I asked you to dance 3 times and you didn't wanna.
Wait, look, wait a minute! Don't you remember?
In case you're wondering all the time
what my name is, it's Johnny Kovak.
What's yours?
You know what it is.
No, your last name. Come on, everybody's got one.
Zerinkas!
It's pretty. You Polack?
I'm Lithuanian.
Lithuanian. Sure not many Lithuanians left.
I thought most of them were dead.
You wanna go for a beer?
For breakfast? I...I don't drink beer.
Well, then let's go someplace and talk.
What do you wanna talk about?
Me, I'll talk about anything.
Baseball, books, the bible. I'm game.
What do you know about the bible?
Are you... what do I know about the bible?
"An eye for an eye" and all that. It's a great book.
Do you always lie?
If it'll help me get along with stuck-up ladies, why not?
Hey, wait a minute! Where you going?
To work.
Well, lady, I'll give you a ride to the gate.
Come on. I don't go for rides.
Come on, it'll impress your friends.
I just washed the car, come on.
You're embarrassing me. You're making me look bad.
And can't you even say goodbye?
Bye!
Hey, Anna, do all your friends here know how stuck-up you are?
Ok, fellows, what's your business?
We're with the union.
Federation of Interstate Truckers.
Look, we just wanna talk to the guys
for a few minutes, all right?
Park this outside, and I'll go check upstairs.
Thank you.
What're you thankin' him for?
A couple of union boys.
You guys can go on in, but I need some names first.
Abe Belkin.
Kovak, Johnny Kovak.
Keep an eye on 'em.
...Benefits? How do we...
Good morning.
How are you? My name is Johnny Kovak,
we're from the trucking union.
Abe Belkin. How are you? Nice meeting you.
Listen, we just wanna talk to you about...
but we're not interested.
Wait, aren't you interested in better working conditions?
I said we're not interested.
I know what you said, but we just wanna talk to you...
you heard what he said.
Yeah, what is your name?
Richman. Richman, ok.
Uh, Abe, why don't we come back?
We'll talk to these guys later. We'll talk to you, uh, well...
Who the hell are those guys?
Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
Wait, I'm Johnny Kovak.
We're from the, uh, truckers' union...
give me a break, will you?
We just wanna talk about the pay...
I pay my dues. Just leave me alone, all right?
We'll get you more money. We'll get you better...
come on, 5 minutes.
We've got a meeting, 8:00, Friday night,
St. Stephen's basement. I hope some of you guys show up.
Come on.
Come on, Johnny.
How long have we been out, 14 hours?
13, 3 sign-ups.
We got 2 sign-ups and one "maybe."
Any trucks been around?
I don't know. It's been slow.
Where's the driver of that rig?
I don't know. I haven't seen him.
Is he inside? I don't know.
Listen, would you put in
about 60 cents' worth of gas and check the oil? Ok?
- Sure. - Wait up, Abe.
Am I beat.
That's some rig.
Yeah.
It's an independent. Mmm-hmm.
Yeah.
"Higgins hauling service."
Hey, anybody in there? Huh?
Get the hell away from my rig.
Hey, we're from the union. Come on.
Bullshit! We're signin' up members.
Last time somebody knocked on my door, they took my load.
We're not gonna to take anything. Show him the card.
Federation of Interstate Truckers, Abe Belkin.
That's right.
Ok, you're with the union. Now get out of here.
Wait, don't you wanna do something
about what the companies are doin' to the drivers?
If you sign up with the union,
they can't screw you so bad. You know that?
Upside down they can screw you.
And start all over again.
Not if everybody signs up.
Yeah? Well, I'll sign up when everybody else has signed up. How's that?
We can give you more clout with the company.
Now don't you understand that?
You 2 guys?
No, the union.
Yeah. You sure you and Abie here
just don't wanna collect dues?
You can make the dues up in the raises the union will get you.
Bullshit!
All right, you wanna end up like Joe Harper,
that's your business.
What happened to Joe?
Joe Harper, pushing too hard for the company,
went off the road, cracked up, no insurance,
nothing for his family.
As a matter of fact, he had a rig just like this.
Wait a minute.
Hey, look, we got a meeting Friday night, 8:00,
St. Stephen's basement.
Hey, what's your name?
Kovak, Johnny Kovak.
What's yours?
Tom Higgins. Everybody knows me.
I'll see you Friday, won't I, Tom?
But I ain't gonna sign nothin'.
Now, you guys know
that the companies have been
putting it to us worse than ever before.
And the only way we got of holding 'em off
is by getting together.
That's what a union's all about.
Hi, Joe.
Hi, Joe, how the hell are you?
All right, you guys, this is Johnny Kovak.
Good work, John.
John.
Most of you guys know Joe Harper.
Joe Harper was one of the first guys with this union.
Paying dues more than 20 years.
Showin' up at meetings.
Doin' what he was asked.
Bein' a brother.
All his life he run from one place to another
to support his family.
The only damn the company gave about him
was to have him run more and more.
Till he run himself off the road.
Now the company don't give a damn at all.
But I wanna tell you guys something...
We ain't askin' the company for nothin'.
'Cause we're gonna take care of Joe.
We're taking care of his doctor bills.
We're taking care of his family.
'Cause Joe's a good union man
and we're taking care of him and the people he loves.
And I'll tell you somethin' else,
you join this union,
we'll get you money for overtime
and doctor bills.
And you won't have to kill yourself makin' a buck
like you're doin' now, like my old man did.
You join this union and make it strong,
it'll make you strong.
And I swear to you, as I'm standing here
that no company bastard livin' up in the heights
is gonna come down here and walk all over your lives.
I promise you that.
Come on, Joe, let's go.
Where do I sign?
Yeah. We're doing pretty good, we're over 300 this month.
With this guy, Vince Kiniwaski?
Yeah? That brings it up to 300.
I think we'll be up to about 400 by 3 or 4 weeks.
Oh, yeah, Abe is out right now.
We're going big, aren't we? Uh-huh.
It's Abe's idea. We take a billboard,
we split the billboard up
and explain exactly what the F.I.S.T. Stands for.
Uh-huh, yeah listen, yeah, Abe is still out.
I'll get back to you in a minute, Mike.
Yeah, ok. Bye.
Mr. Kovak, I'm Arthur St. Clair.
General counsel for consolidated trucking.
I know who you are.
May I sit down?
It occurs to me, Mr. Kovak,
that we have some concerns in common.
In different ways,
we're both concerned about truckers.
You for the union and, uh, your commission.
And I... I'm concerned with the company and our profits, of course.
Of course.
It's been brought to my attention, Mr. Kovak that, uh,
you have a special talent
for communicating with drivers.
I'd like to put that talent to work.
Uh-huh?
How you gonna do that?
By hiring you to work for us.
Now think about it seriously, Mr. Kovak.
Think of the good you can do from inside the company,
helping our drivers.
What about the men? What about the union?
Well, your associate, Mr. Belkin could carry on for you.
Money, of course, is no problem.
We'd be happy to double whatever you're making now
in salary and commissions.
It's not bad.
Very not bad, I'd say.
You know somethin', St. Clair?
When I first took this job, I had a feeling
that if I did a good enough job,
sooner or later somebody would come walking up those stairs.
Somebody like you.
And they'd sit in that chair,
and they'd tell me what you're telling me now.
And I knew then what I was gonna say, and I know now.
Why don't you get the hell out of my office?
You're stinkin' up union property.
As you get older, Kovak,
you'll find that civility can be learned,
sometimes even taught.
When you change your mind, give me a call.
You're 4 short, Miss Zerinkas.
No.
What's the matter with you?
I wasn't going to touch you.
1, 2, 3, 4. I'm not short.
Now if you wanna keep your job here I'm not...
you'd better learn to start cooperating, Miss Zerinkas.
I've never been short on my count, Mr. Burke.
You know that!
Ae knows that.
Goodnight, George.
Anna.
What do you want?
What's the matter?
Anna, are you crying? What's the matter?
Nothing.
You look like you're cryin'.
Did somebody do something to you?
No. What's the matter?
Don't you ever cry?
Ah, yeah, I cry when I peel onions,
but you look like you're a little bit more upset than that.
Want to grab some beer?
I told you I don't drink beer.
How about some coffee? Want to get some coffee?
No, you don't want no coffee either.
How about some ice cream?
Come on, everybody likes ice cream.
What do you like, you like vanilla?
Do you like chocolate? No chocolate?
How about strawberry?
Come on, I know you like strawberry, right?
I can see you smilin' already. You smilin'?
I know there's a smile in there.
You want to get some strawberry?
I know a great place.
Cheap, too.
Oh, no, no hands.
You mean, you don't want me to touch you?
No hands, all right. No hands.
I was thinkin', Anna,
it's gonna be very difficult driving with no hands.
But we'll work somethin' out.
You ever tried to shift with your elbows?
I've never driven a car.
And maybe by the end of the summer we'll be up around 500.
What we're trying to do with the union
is make sure none of the guys get stepped on
by the companies anymore.
That's what the problem is,
that's what it's always been around here.
I was thinking that maybe we ought to go see a show sometime.
Mmm. At the factory where I work...
Yeah?
...2 of the girls tried to start a union, and they threw 'em out.
Oh, that's rough. That was rough.
I was, uh, reading in the paper the other day
where they have Ginger Rogers appearing nightly,
down at The Orpheum.
She's a good dancer. You ever seen her dance?
No, and now they can't get a job anywhere in this entire city.
Hmm.
That's rough. Maybe I can talk to some people about that, help out.
Oh, would you?
Yeah, I was thinking,
the way you're sitting there eating that ice cream cone,
you kind of remind me of Ginger Rogers, you know that?
You do. Saturday night, I'm free.
I got plans.
Got plans? Well, so do I.
Sunday night?
I got plans.
You sure got a lot of plans.
What do you think you'll be doing next Easter?
Hmm?
You always so pushy?
Yeah, when I really want something. Hmm?
Maybe I'll check my schedule here, see if, uh,
I got a cancellation for next Saturday, 9:00.
Strawberry girl, you could be available?
Hmm?
No hands?
I'll make you a deal.
What?
No hands if, uh, I can have this ice cream cone.
Ok? - Ok.
Ok.
I'll call you up, ok?
How you doing, Bob? How's the wife treating you?
We'll get back in about 3 days,
I think everything should be ok, all right.
Thank you for your time.
Johnny Kovak, take care of yourself.
Hi, George. Hey, Johnny.
Hey, listen, there's a guy over there
in a consolidated truck wants to talk to you.
Uh-huh? Yeah, he might wanna sign up.
All right, thanks a lot.
Watch out for Myrtle's Coffee, she's on the warpath.
Ok, will do.
Hey, you wanted to see me?
Yeah, I was thinkin' about signin' up.
Oh, good, good, good. What's your name?
Jack. - Jack. Jack what?
Jack... - Kovak,
I wanna sign up, too.
Oh, God!
Yeah?
Have you given my proposition further thought?
Come on in. Show your cards or your buttons.
Show your cards or your buttons. Come on in and take a seat.
Uh, Tom, I...
you wanna close the doors back there
so we can get the, uh, meeting started?
Uh, we have with us here tonight from Indianapolis,
a man you all know or heard about.
He's gonna swear in all you new members.
A man...Who's a real legend in the union movement.
It's Henry Ford!
Come on now, Tom, now.
Let's...let's settle down, guys, settle down.
Max Graham.
The national president of this union.
First, I wanna thank Mike Monahan
for the fancy introduction.
I wanna talk to you guys about somethin'
I've been seein' every place I go.
Skirts!
Any of you real smart guys wanna crack wise,
get the hell out of here and do it outside!
I don't wanna think the company sent you in here
to disrupt this meetin'.
What I wanna talk to you about
is this business of Bolshevik agitating.
Have you come across any Bolsheviks?
- You know what I mean. - Huh?
I seen 'em in Pittsburgh, I seen 'em in Detroit,
and you got 'em right here in Cleveland.
Fancy guys with smart words, lots of talk,
they're trying to stir up good union men against the system.
Now I know we got problems with the companies,
but that's why we're here. That's why we got a union.
That's why we pledge to obey all the laws
and to aid our member brothers.
To iron these things out with our bosses, your bosses.
To make sure the company makes a profit.
Now, you know what I'm talkin' about?
If the companies don't make a profit, we don't make a profit.
Now,
I want to talk to you about getting your dues in on time.
Oh!
Get off your asses and pay your dues.
How you doing, jugs? Johnny, how are you?
Oh, thank you.
Every bohunk in here know him?
Yeah, everybody likes Johnny.
It's for you, Mishka. Thanks.
Hey, Molly. He wants to go out with you.
Who?
The gentleman you like, Abe.
...Couldn't fix a damn truck.
She wants to go out with you.
Come on, how do you know?
I know. If you don't, I will.
Yeah, you would, too.
She's got a great frame on her.
You're not a driver, are you, Kovak?
Well, not like you guys, no.
I didn't think so.
- She's... - stirrin' all these men up.
All this grandstandin'.
What grandstandin'? What are you talkin', Max?
We've grown since Johnny come in, right?
You mean he's grown.
You make a commission on each one?
Yeah, I do my... I do my job.
You makin' a name for yourself?
You put money in your mattress?
Hey, Max.
He never even drove a truck.
I'll see you guys later.
Johnny, hey, wait!
Pretty soon, the company will come along and offer you somethin'.
And you'll take. You'll take.
Johnny, come on.
Max, what the hell's wrong with you?
Come on, Abe. Abe, Johnny, come on back, have another beer.
You didn't finish your drink.
Oh, Jesus! I'm sorry, Molly.
That's ok.
I'm off Friday.
You're on.
Does Anna Zerinkas live here?
Yeah, that's where she lives.
Thank you.
Now get away from there.
Hi, Johnny Kovak, from the union.
- Oh, yeah. - How are you?
How are you?
Hi. Hey, hey, Anna, we've got a date. What the...
today's Friday. Our date is for tomorrow night.
Yeah, I know that...
I know that, but today don't bother me.
Well, it...it bothers me. I mean, uh...
No, don't worry about way you're dressed.
So you're not dressed to kill.
It's ok. - What are you, drunk?
Well, I just had a little beer with the guys
- down at the bar, nothing serious. - Oh.
I don't think you're funny.
You don't?
I think you're funny.
What you mean by that?
Uh, I mean, don't worry about the way you're dressed,
I can take you some place dark.
No one has to see it.
Uh-huh, well, I can't go.
Oh, you can't?
Well, why not?
Because, uh, I... I've got a headache.
You got a headache?
From what? I just got here.
Well, I got a headache from some slob
standing on my doorstep insulting me!
Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Wait, wait.
Is your... is your mother home?
Why?
'Cause if I can't go out with you,
I'd like to go out with the original.
Ooh!
Should have waited till Saturday, that's the problem.
Hey, looks like a lockout, huh?
Hi, Johnny.
Hi, John.
Here, take the car, will you?
What's the matter? Where's your date?
Uh, she was late, so I stood her up, you know.
Doesn't matter. Here.
He's crazy about you, isn't he?
You got what it takes. See you around.
Yeah.
Hey, Johnny, where you going?
Yeah, where am I going? Yeah, she looks a little like
Ginger Rogers, don't you think?
Is he always like that?
What do you expect, he's a hunky.
Did you like the movie?
No.
You didn't?
I'm just kidding you.
You're really a sucker, you know that?
Goodnight, Abe.
Goodnight, Molly.
Goodnight.
Shit!
All right. You guys saw what they did to Abe, right?
Yeah!
We can't just go runnin' out and strike,
for Christ's sake, just because somebody got hurt.
I didn't join up to lose my job, Johnny. Uh, did we?
I don't wanna strike no more than you do, Tom.
I don't want nobody to lose jobs.
None of you guys. What you gettin' from us?
Nothin'.
Are they paying you overtime?
No.
They paying your doctor's bills?
No. They sure ain't.
All we've been doing so far is takin' your dues.
Look, look, look, what me and Mike are gonna do,
we're gonna go in there and we're gonna talk to 'em.
Oh, so that's Kovak.
That's him.
How many of our drivers has he signed up so far?
About 60%.
I know these foreigners around here.
They're a good, simple people.
They like to have a lot of laughs
and have a beer.
And don't take no crap.
Hello, I'm Phillip Talbot.
I'm, uh, Mike Monahan and...
This is our organizer,
Johnny Kovak. Kovak.
My father should be here in a moment, gentlemen.
I'm sorry for the delay.
That's all right, Mr. Talbot.
We got the time.
Sit down. Sit down, Mike
thanks.
This is, uh, Mr. St. Clair, our attorney.
Yes, we've met.
And Mr. Langley, our comptroller.
Mike, why are you sitting here?
What...what do you mean, Johnny?
If he's gonna sit there, then you ought to sit down there.
Oh, this is ok.
No, it's not. Come on, let's do it.
Yeah? All right.
We're gonna sit down there.
It's a good seat. It sure is.
Sorry I'm late, gentlemen.
Some of these meetings, you know, they go on. Please, sit down.
Why don't you, uh, move down here,
perhaps we can hear each other better?
No, we can hear fine. Unless you guys wanna come down here.
Oh, I think we can hear just fine.
Ok.
Shall we begin?
This is Mr. Monahan, the president of the local...
How do you do, Sir?
Mr. Novak. Kovak. Chief organizer.
All right, Mr. Kovak, what can we do for you?
Well, Mike here's the president. I guess he knows better than me,
so why don't you lay it out for 'em, Mike?
Ok, Johnny.
Certainly, Mr. Monahan.
Uh, the thing of it is, Mr. Talbot,
the, uh, the men in our local are upset about a few things,
and, well, uh, we wanted to talk 'em over with you.
Oh, I'm always willing to discuss our men's problems.
I want the men to be happy.
Well, the way the men see it,
the company ought to pay for the medical bills
when any guy gets hurt.
And, uh, set up some kind of an insurance plan
for the family.
How do we stand on that?
Our policy is the same as that of the other companies.
We don't have our own insurance program,
but as you know, we have, on occasion, lent some of the men money,
at standard rates for medical emergencies.
Some of the men have already expressed
their appreciation to me personally, win.
Oh, that's very nice.
I was thinking, Mr. Talbot,
not of your lendin' the money,
but of payin' the bills.
We're gonna cut 'em off, pal, you know that?
What did he say?
I said we're gonna cut 'em off, your balls.
And what exactly do you mean by that crudity, Mr. Kovak?
I mean we're gonna shut you down.
I see.
No, you don't see.
You don't see nothin'. You guys don't hear nothin'. You don't feel nothing.
'Cause if you did, we wouldn't be sittin' here.
You're out of touch.
I'll tell you what you're sufferin' from, small eyes and fat asses.
Is he speaking for you, Mr. Monahan?
Johnny's our organizer, he knows what the men want.
Well, I think I've heard enough.
No, you haven't heard enough!
Damn it, if a guy works overtime,
why don't you pay him overtime?
If he needs insurance, why don't you give him insurance?
We don't like to come here beggin', we're not askin' for charity.
We're not asking you to be generous,
we're just asking you to be smart businessmen.
Ah, I see.
Well, the answer is no, Mr. Kovak.
No insurance.
No overtime.
No pay raises.
Let's go, Mike.
Come on.
Do you know how much money you're gonna lose in a strike?
He's unbelievable.
I wanna talk to you. Let go of me!
I want to talk to you. Why did you do it? What?
Why did you stand me up?
Nobody comes for me drunk.
I was under control. Who's control?
The gentleman... I ain't got the money to be a gentleman, all right?
The gentlemen who take me out,
they knock on my door very politely. Is that right?
Yes, they talk to my mother.
What can I talk to your mother about?
The weather.
- The weather? - The weather.
Jesus.
They escort me to their car,
and sometimes they even bring me flowers.
Flowers?
Flowers.
You know, you're nuts.
You know that, Anna?
You know that?
I look like I got any flowers?
What do you think I am, a pansy?
You think I've got flowers on me?
Are those for me?
Good evening, my name is John Kovak, from the union.
I have a date with Anna, and I'm looking for Anna's mother.
I am Mrs. Zerinkas. Come in, please.
Thank you.
Please.
Sit down, yes.
What beautiful roses.
Oh, thank you. They were havin' a sale,
so I thought I'd...
buy 'em.
Maybe we should put them in a vase?
Oh, if it's ok with you, I'd just like to hold them here in my hand.
Yes. Just one moment please.
Ok.
Anna!
Your friend is here!
I'll be down in a minute, mama.
- Ah, please. - Thank you.
This heat is really somethin'.
The humidity from the lake, I think.
Yeah.
I like it when it's cold because you can feel yourself breathe.
And you don't sweat through all your shirts.
This is one of the hottest spells we have had in years.
That's very true. Very true.
I was thinkin' about that.
You are not Lithuanian?
No, I'm Hungarian.
Hmm.
Catholic?
Oh, sure. Since I was born.
What have you 2 been talking about behind my back?
The weather.
Oh, Johnny, what beautiful flowers.
You shouldn't have.
Well, they were havin' a sale so I thought, well, why not?
Thank you. - Hmm.
I just love it when it's so nice and warm,
don't you, Johnny?
Yeah, I was saying I like it, it opens the pores.
Mr. Kovak was just saying how much he likes the cold.
Oh, what I meant is, I like it, uh, both ways.
I like to be hot and cold at the same time.
I guess I'd better be going.
Well, have fun.
Yes, I'll try, mama.
Yeah, I'll have her back in about a month or so.
Oh, I'm sure. It was nice meeting you.
Bye-bye, mama.
We'll have a good time. Bye.
Nice meeting you. Nice meeting you.
Don't stay out too late.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Goodnight, Anna!
Goodbye!
Boy, he's fancy dressed, huh?
Sure is, look at that tie.
He came in with flowers, too.
- Bye. - Bye.
Oh, got it!
Don't breathe. Don't breathe.
I do a great, great train imitation.
I've been doing it all my life.
Since I was a kid.
Wanna hear a train? Sure.
Ok.
Let me see.
No. That's...
Hey, Johnny.
How are you doin'? Hey, Vince.
I was just showin' Anna here my train imitation.
Oh, yeah?
Well, you always were a bit of an engineer.
I see you won yourself a doll, too.
Oh, yeah, Anna, this is Vince Doyle and Jocko.
I don't know the girls.
This is bonnie and Rosie.
Pleased to meet you. Pleased to meet you.
Boy, you always know how to pick 'em,
don't you, kid?
Hey, Vince, how about it, all right?
Sorry.
Hey, I hear you're gonna take your guys out on strike?
You're getting to be a regular labor leader.
Regular labor leader. Well, I'm just doing my job.
You're whistling past the graveyard, kid.
Well, I think I'm doin' the right thing.
Nobody's gonna break that old man's back.
Not in this town.
We'll see.
Well, we gotta go.
I bet.
Bye, doll.
Who is that man?
Oh, Vince? Vince works for the church.
Oh, really?
No, he's just some guy I grew up with.
Of course, Vince never had good manners like me.
Hmm? Wanna go spend some dimes?
- Ok, yeah. - Want to hear my train imitation?
I heard it.
All right, everybody gather around.
I want bright boy here to hear this
so he knows the rules. We're on strike.
That means there's no trucks goin' in,
there's no trucks comin' out.
This is the boundary.
Well, what did the police say?
They'll be arrested the minute they destroy any property.
I told you we'd be back, Talbot.
I told you we'd be back.
We're on strike.
You can't win.
That damn Roosevelt.
What this country needs is Douglas MacArthur.
Hey, Jack, Roger.
Rest of you guys come on over here.
You need a hand?
What do you think?
Isn't that all right? Watch it, it's still wet.
Take these all over to Higgins.
Ok, let's go, lift it up.
Watch it, don't tear that canvas. That a way.
Good.
Tie it on real tight.
That a away.
Campbell, take that rope.
Where you goin'?
Campbell, take that rope.
Sure, Mike.
Yeah, right up, right up in the middle.
Father, you know these fellows here.
How are you?
Hello, father.
It's a 3-ring circus.
Keep going, come on.
You said it wouldn't even last a month, Arthur.
They can't hold out much longer, Sir.
Well, that bohunk's not gonna put
a circus tent on my doorstep.
Call the law and order league.
¶ let's go down and join the union ¶
¶ let's go down and join right now ¶
¶ hey, let's go down and join the union ¶
¶ follow me and I'll show you how ¶
¶ well, if you've had enough of sorrow ¶
¶ if you've had enough of pain ¶
Thanks, ma'am. Thank you.
How you holdin' up?
Pretty good. How about yourself?
Oh, I can go another 8 hours.
You washed more cups?
I finally got you something to eat.
- Oh, boy. - It's not much but go ahead.
Thanks, lady. - Ok.
¶ hey, let's go down ¶
Here's your coffee.
¶ and join the union ¶
There you go. Thank you.
¶ follow me and I'll show you how ¶
Oh, hi, Molly. There you go.
There's a truck. There's a truck.
Block the gate. Block the gate.
Mike, they've got guns.
Hold it. Hold it.
¶ so, let's go down and join the union ¶
Hey, look...look out! Get out of the way!
Go back that way. Go on, now!
Abe, no!
Now, what you're doing is illegal.
Come on!
What the hell's the matter with you guys?
Come on.
Johnny, they're burning the tent.
It's on fire!
Damn you, Talbot!
You and your lousy scabs!
No.
Johnny!
Let's go. Move.
You goddamn bastards!
Get out of the way!
Anna!
Get out of the way, you damn butchers!
Mike.
Butchers! Damn you to hell, Talbot.
Mike!
Oh, Christ!
Did I... did I...
Did I do this? This is my fault.
I know it's my fault.
No, no.
You know, Monahan and my old man,
they used to tie one on at Cassidy's
every Saturday.
"Whistlin' past the graveyard,"
isn't that what I said?
We're all in it now, Vince.
It's got nothin' to do with me.
Yeah, what's in it for you?
Yeah, that's right. What's in it for me?
Now, let me ask you something.
What the hell is in it for you?
Get off it, Johnny.
People buried our people.
My people is anybody who pays.
Our people.
Look, Johnny, what you need is real push.
Real push is what I got.
I need it now.
Well, that's gonna cost you.
We got a fund.
Well,
I'll see what I can do.
Ok.
Thanks.
It's about time you wised up.
I'll see you, kid.
Goodbye.
Don't do it, Johnny.
You wanna keep burying people?
You bring Vince and his crowd in,
I'm telling you, they're gonna screw up this union.
They ain't gonna be in it for life.
Johnny, Vince comes in, he'll never get out.
We need help, Abe.
Without it we ain't got a union.
We can do it.
We need push.
Then how we gonna know... know what?
The difference.
What difference?
Between them and us.
All right now, listen to me.
We've got a lot of trouble here.
I'm gonna straighten things out.
Hi, Johnny. Good to see you.
You know Vince.
Long time, Abe. How you doing, Vince?
Graham's here and he's talkin' against the strike.
Let me talk to him.
What's the next...
What the hell's going to happen next?
Don't worry. I'll take care of it.
Johnny, I want my job.
What are you going to tell these men now, Kovak?
I'm glad you came down, Max.
Talbot's gonna meet with me tomorrow.
Yeah.
You took these men out, I'm gettin' their jobs back.
Let's go someplace where we can talk, man.
I need your help with something, Max.
Yeah, I bet you do. Come on.
I'll see you men in a couple of minutes.
We'll be back.
You should have asked for my help
before you started all this, instead of your grandstanding.
You're right, Max. I can't argue about that.
Come on, guys. Come on, break it up now!
What's on your mind?
What is this?
Get the door.
What is this?
Gonna see Talbot?
That's right, Kovak.
You're gonna sell us out, Max, aren't you?
Make us go back for nothing. Aren't you?
I don't have to talk to you.
I don't have to tell you anything.
I discuss this with the men.
Train leaves in an hour.
You're going back to Indianapolis.
Like hell I am! You crazy?
I'm the president of this union.
No, Max,
you're a salesman.
You're gonna sell us out.
You son of a bitch. You're gonna sell us out.
Make us go back for nothin'.
But I'm telling you somethin'.
This is our fight. Our strike.
This is our local.
It belongs to us.
You're out of it.
All right, you do it your way.
You wanna stand alone?
I'll see you at the next funeral.
Let's go.
Settle down!
You guys without any seats, stand along the sides.
You guys got seats? Sit down,
and we can get out of this sweatbox.
Order!
Thank you.
I just want to say before we get started
that Max Graham got called back to Indianapolis
on account of sudden union business.
But he wanted me to tell you that he's with us 200%.
Wait a minute.
And will help us in any way he can.
All right?
Now, Abe here has a Western Union he wants to read.
Abe.
It says:
"To our brothers in local 302
"of the Federation of Interstate Truckers.
"We stand behind you with our hearts and bodies
"in the great and noble struggle you must continue.
Together, the American labor movement will never be vanquished."
And it's signed,
"yours in solidarity, John I. Lewis committee..."
We also got word from Petey Marr of the dockworkers.
He said that whatever we need
out of their emergency fund to tide us over,
we got it.
Till we rightfully get what's comin' to us.
All right. I just want to say one thing.
We're to go back out there.
They're not gonna beat us down no more.
They're not gonna burn us down no more.
They're not gonna shoot us down no more.
'Cause if they do, we're gonna do what Mike did.
We're comin' at 'em with everything we got.
Yeah, that's right.
And I'm saying to consolidated right now...
Yeah.
We got to do any more buryin' in the graveyard,
they'd better get out their shovels,
'cause we're through takin' punches.
You don't win a fight takin' a punch.
Nobody ever won a fight takin' a punch!
And you see what this says?
This ain't a bunch of letters like any other union.
It says "FIST."
And that's what we are.
Every guy in here. A FIST.
One FIST.
- What are you? - FIST!
FIST! FIST! FIST!
FIST, FIST, FIST!
- All right. - All right.
Ok, kid, go ride your bike.
Vinnie, a consolidated truck.
Just goin' over the bridge.
Ok. Al, lefty, lard, go pay 'em a call.
Don't overdo it. Yeah.
Yeah. Ok. Thank you. We got another one.
All right. Just left terminal warehouse.
You and chuck go get them.
Hey, you guys. Take it easy.
All right, fellows, keep those guys back there. Keep them back.
All right, a lot of space between them, boys. All right?
Hey, scabs!
Scabs, scabs.
- What are we? FIST. - FIST!
- What are we? - FIST!
Hiya, hank. How's the wife and kids?
FIST! FIST!
- What are we? What are we? - FIST!
FIST! FIST!
Car 47 to Cleveland P.D.
Need assistance at front gate consolidated. Over.
Hold it. Hold it.
Anything wrong?
Hey, Vince,
Here they come!
Here they come. Hey, here they come.
All right, come on, fellows. Let's go.
Johnny.
It's time.
It's time!
Now, slow down.
Hold it here.
Come on.
Jocko, Billy! Let's go!
Get that son of a bitch! Get him!
Fire!
Come on!
Get them back, come on, get them back.
Johnny!
Johnny.
Hey, scab.
Johnny!
Johnny, stop it. Stop it, you're killing him.
Get on out of here. Get on!
Insurance, pay hike, overtime.
It's all there, gentlemen.
You said before you were concerned about the men's welfare.
Well, now we're satisfied.
Thank you.
Then it's a deal?
- Johnny. - Abe.
Congratulations, kid.
Thanks a lot, Vince.
Um.
I hope we can work together better in the future, Mr. Kovak.
Bank on it.
Ok.
We're on 68. Anytime now it should change to 27,
outside of Lexington.
With the power our union can bring you,
you won't be called garbage men anymore.
You'll be called valuable sanitation workers.
There's a difference.
You're men of Lexington, you don't need Lexington.
Lexington needs you. Do you get my meaning?
Lexington needs you.
Are you tired of having somebody you never see
telling you you can't have no overtime?
Tired of having somebody you never see telling you
you can't have no insurance for your families?
Tired of having somebody you never see
telling you you can't have any clothes on your kids' backs.
Well, if you're tired of hearing it, you men from Dubuque,
join with your brothers from all over the state.
And join with your brothers from Michigan, from Indiana, from Kentucky
and the whole Midwest.
And for the first time,
this union is gonna give you something to say about your own lives.
Everything on wheels is gonna belong to us.
There's gonna be a day when this union is so powerful
they're gonna shake.
I, Abe Belkin,
pledge my honor.
Pledge my honor.
To obey all the laws of this union.
Pledge my complete loyalty to it
above all other organizations.
Pledge my complete loyalty to it
above all other organizations.
I wonder when we'll hear from Petey Marr.
I don't know. I don't know. I haven't heard anything.
Good morning, boys.
Good morning, Vince. What've you got there?
146 business agents, 12 states in the Midwest.
Oh, that's good.
And, uh, here's a little wire for you from Graham.
Max Graham. Some president. Is it collect? Here, read this.
Good morning, everyone.
Good morning, Abe.
We've got almost 100% company sign-ups.
- Uh-huh. Almost. - Who's giving us trouble?
One outfit in Chicago.
Some guy named Vasko runs it.
Another hard-headed hunky.
- Vasko, huh? - Mmm-hmm.
Why won't he sign?
I don't know. His guys don't wanna join up, he says.
We got to do something, Johnny.
Johnny, the guy's a nobody. We don't wanna muscle guys to sign up.
That's where you're wrong, Abe. They all got to join up.
It's for their own good. You know that. Give Chicago local a call.
Find out more about this Vasko. Ok?
Sure, Johnny.
Hey, let me handle it.
Ok?
¶ Santa Claus is coming to town ¶
¶ gather round ¶
¶ he's making a list ¶
Looking good, isn't it?
Huh, good.
Who's that?
¶ Santa Claus is coming to town ¶
Frank Vasko?
Yeah.
Johnny Kovak, from the union.
Mrs. Vasko, I'm John Kovak.
How are you?
Good evening. - Helen.
Take Aggie upstairs awhile.
I want to finish the tree.
Oh, she don't have to go no place on account of me, Frank.
Merry Christmas, Aggie.
¶ Santa Claus is coming to town ¶
That angel you have on the tree,
that's the same angel we have back at home. Exactly the same.
My mother puts it up there every year.
Wouldn't seem like Christmas without it.
¶ Santa Claus is coming to town ¶
What the hell you come here for?
You can't scare me.
Those...those business agents you sent down,
I had to put one of them through a plate-glass window.
Well, you're a rough guy, Frank. Anyone can see that.
But you got to understand something.
This ain't nothing personal.
And what the hell, our folks probably come over
on the same boat together. Am I right?
Then what are we arguing for?
They don't wanna sign up, Johnny.
They took a vote.
They don't wanna pay dues.
Look, we got our own insurance.
I mean, my guys, they got the best overtime in Chicago.
They got the best rate of pay of anybody in Illinois.
What the hell they want to sign up for?
'Cause there are a lot of other guys with other companies,
you see, that ain't got it so good.
We got to think about all the guys out there on the road, Frank.
We got to have them all sign up. Everybody.
Everybody doesn't live like this.
We got to bring them all together, Frank.
So as we got the push. Look!
I'm not gonna force my men to do something they don't wanna do.
We can't make no exceptions, Frank.
Merry Christmas.
That's it. Now don't burn yourself, Mishka.
What have we got here?
Oh, beautiful. Look at that.
Your presents. That's for you.
Here, Mishka, I'll help you.
Now, wait a minute.
Come on, everybody, the duck is ready.
The duck's ready.
Thank you.
Open yours.
What, I got one? Yes.
Get out of here. What did you get me? Yes, yes, yes.
Which hand? That one.
Merry Christmas, Anna.
Oh. - Yes or no?
Oh, listen to him giving the orders again.
Yes or no?
Oh, it's...it's not supposed to happen like this, in here.
Try it on. No this...
Oh, this one.
Johnny.
This one.
- Right? - Yeah.
Where are they?
Let's go tell them.
No, let's just wait a minute.
- Ok? - All right.
Oh, Anna.
I'm gonna give it to you.
Merry Christmas.
How's the club doing?
Oh, fine.
Jocko's running it for me while I'm away.
You gotta come by sometime, you know?
I haven't seen you in a long time.
Very difficult for me to get away.
Big operation going on here.
Big business, Vincent.
Oh, listen, listen,
since the last time we spoke,
uh, my wife had a baby.
No kidding!
Look at that, look at that kid.
- Oh, Jesus. - Is that beautiful, huh?
Oh, Johnny.
Has the most beautiful hands I ever saw on anybody.
He looks like you, Babe.
I should hope so. I put a lot of work into it.
Everybody wants dessert, huh?
Uh, fetch me a nice plate of Zeppole Di San Giuseppe.
Zeppole di San Giuseppe.
So, uh.
How about it, Babe?
Look, uh, what, you want me to talk to this guy? What's his name?
Vasko.
Vasko? I'll talk to him.
For your friend here.
Well, Johnny and I figured, you know,
this being Chicago and everything,
it'd be better if you took care of it.
Sure, sure.
Home team.
Just some talk.
You owe me.
He's gonna remember, huh, Vince?
Johnny don't forget. He's 100%.
100%, 100%. Nobody's 100%.
Nobody.
Salud.
Yes?
Mrs. Vasko?
Yes.
May we come in?
What do you want?
Let go. No, no! No, God, no!
Get up.
No! God, no.
Tell Frank, next time, we ain't gonna stop.
Mishka, don't you think you could start halfway up, maybe?
Yeah.
And this is when uncle Mishka steps back.
I know, I know, father.
Goodbye, Mishka.
You, I...I know since you were in diapers.
I'll see you at Zigi's.
And, Johnny, move up to that side of the bride.
And follow their steps to the altar.
We got to be there by 8:00.
Why can't you pick it up in the morning?
It'll only take a minute. I'll be right out.
Yeah, yeah, I've heard that before.
It's...it's really very simple.
We're not asking for much.
Your drivers, they don't deliver liquor to any bar
unless that bar's got one of our company's jukeboxes in it. That's all.
How many boxes are you talking about?
How many?
2,000, 3,000, at least.
Here, Michigan, Illinois.
It sounds like I don't have any choice in this.
Oh, sure you do, Johnny.
But Babe did help us out with that Vasko situation.
And we'll help your men, the union in whatever way we can.
I got a lot of respect for you, John.
Sure.
All right then, we got a deal.
John?
Yeah.
Congratulations, John.
Vince, we'll talk.
Right.
Oh, John, I understand you're getting married.
Oh, that's very nice.
I'd like to give you a wedding present.
I don't need nothing.
Need?
Now, who's talking about need?
You're becoming an important man, John.
You got to start living in some style.
Buy yourself a nice home.
That's my gift to you and your new bride.
I said I don't need nothing.
Uh, Johnny, I think Babe's just trying to show his appreciation...
I know what he's trying to do, Vince.
That's all right. Vince, it's all right.
John, really, I was... I was only trying to help you out. That's all.
Now believe me, from the bottom of my heart,
I hope your marriage is blessed.
Like mine has been.
To Anna.
Smile.
Swing it, Molly. Swing it.
You're stepping on my feet.
Swing it, swing it!
Hey, Mishka, give a guy a break, will you?
You look very beautiful, Anna.
Thank you.
Take good care of him.
I plan to.
I'm supposed to stand around here
and watch a bunch of hunkies dancing with my wife.
Nobody better have a cold.
Come on, I wanna talk to you.
All right, yeah, we'll talk.
Come on, Mishka.
Come on. Dance, Mishka.
Here it is. No, no, no.
What are you doing?
Not here. I'm looking for the wine.
We got our own wine downstairs.
No. Where? It's not in there.
There it is.
It belongs to the priest.
Oh, it belongs to God.
I know. I've been around this place a lot more than you have.
Remember when ma made me join up and be an altar boy?
I used to come here every morning
and have a shot of the priest's wine. Why?
'Cause it's the best damn wine the priest drinks,
so I think it's good enough for me, don't you think?
Here's to you and Molly, I toast you.
Now wait a minute.
That frame of hers, she must be wearing you out.
Now don't get mad at me.
You can tell me, I'm a married man now.
What'd you do, Johnny?
What?
Jesus, what did you do?
I got married. I...
You took, didn't you?
What are you saying? You took.
I never took...
I had to stop off at the office. I heard you.
You gonna buy yourself a nice home as your wedding present?
Oh, listen, I didn't... no, you listen!
You're gonna piss it all away. Everything.
Everything we built up.
You and the punks you got working with you. Pushing guys.
Doing things they don't wanna.
Look, I didn't do nothing except what's good for the guys.
Jukeboxes. That's gonna be good for the guys!
Ain't gonna hurt nothing.
You sold out, Johnny. Don't say that.
You sold out. - Don't say that!
We had something clean.
Clean?
Why don't you go out on the street and tell me what's clean, Abe?
Ain't nothing clean.
But look what we got the guys.
We got them more money, we got them insurance.
Look, I don't like it no more than you,
but we'd have nothing, without Doyle and Milano. And you know it.
You know that.
I'm leaving tomorrow for the west coast.
I talked to Graham. He needs my help out there.
All right, so when are you coming back?
No, we're moving out there. Me and Molly.
Oh, Christ, Abe. Come on.
We're going big here.
I need your help. This is where you belong.
I mean, you, me,
we built this whole together, Abe, you're like my brother.
You're like my brother.
You're the only guy. I...I can't trust nobody.
I'm telling you.
¶ he rocks in the treetop all day long ¶
¶ hoppin' and a-boppin' and a-singin' his song ¶
¶ all the little birds on jaybird street ¶
¶ love to hear the robin go tweet, tweet, tweet ¶
¶ rockin' robin ¶
¶ tweet, tweet, tweet ¶
¶ rockin' robin ¶
¶ tweet, twiddly-deet ¶
¶ blow, rockin' robin ¶
¶ 'cause we really gonna rock tonight ¶
¶ tweet, twiddly-deet ¶
¶ every little swallow, every chickadee ¶
¶ every little bird in the tall oak tree ¶
¶ the wise old owl, the big black crow ¶
¶ flappin' their wings ¶
Ah, Mr. Kovak, welcome to Washington.
I'm Peter Jacobs, head of public relations.
Guy with a hand. Nice hand you got there. Thank you.
Bernie Marr, my assistant. Mr. Marr, hello.
Uh, Mr. Graham is expecting you in his office.
May I take your coat?
Gladly.
Johnny, great to see you.
Hey, you got to tell me how you keep looking this fit.
Exercise, Max, exercise. How you been?
You know Bernie Marr, my assistant?
- Bern. - Mr. Graham.
You know Mike Quinn, northeast council?
Bob Wilson, southeast council.
Bob, how have you been?
Abe Belkin show up from the west coast?
No. He's in Frisco negotiating. Can't make it.
Nice setup, huh, Johnny?
Yeah, very nice.
Hey, you want a drink?
No, it's too early for me, Max.
Hey, uh, we got a masseur downstairs.
You wanna freshen up a bit?
Your own masseur? Ain't that something, Bernie?
It's impressive.
I was just checking out the place here, it's, uh...
What is that, mahogany?
No, it's walnut.
Walnut. Good for the image.
You know what I mean, Johnny?
I know what you mean. Excuse me, gentlemen,
the regional meeting's about to begin.
Ok, uh.
How long you staying?
I just got here, you want to know when I'm leaving?
No. It's just that after the regional meeting,
the secretary of labor is holding a press reception.
I wanna make sure you're gonna be around.
Senator, how are you?
I'm fine. Thank you.
Senator.
The contracts you've gotten for your men in the Midwest
certainly earns you the respect of the entire trucking industry.
It's nice of you to say so.
What paper are you with? Washington Post.
Bernie, make sure we get a subscription to The Post, all right?
Tell me something, Mr. Kovak. Yeah.
How come you always manage to get your men such good contracts?
And what paper are you with?
- Johnny. - Yeah?
This is Senator Andrew Madison of Pennsylvania.
I see.
He's the chairman of the senate rackets committee.
Is that right? I thought it was a press reception.
Well, labor has always been an interest of mine.
Is that so? Are we on television?
You gonna answer the question?
What question is that?
Well, I was curious how come you were always able to get your men
such surprisingly good contracts.
Well, I learned something a long time ago, Senator.
You can get anything you want in this country with a little bit of push.
That's good. Oh, that's good.
Thank you, Mr. Kovak. Excuse me.
Mr. Kovak really talks simple...
What we gonna do about this senate race here?
I don't know nothing about this guy,
what the hell's his name, Buford?
- No, Belford. - Belford.
We've already got 3 letters from judge Williams asking our support.
Look, I know that, Vince.
But the only time I met the guy he shook hands like this.
Like a fish. He's gonna lose.
Yeah, all right.
So what do we give him, 5?
I wouldn't give him 5 if he was the last guy on earth.
Give him 2 as a favor to the judge. And Vince.
Yeah?
You better get a receipt.
Ok.
Johnny, somebody here to see you.
I told you no more appointments today, Bernie.
That include your best man?
Abe, how the hell are you?
How are you, Johnny?
How are you?
But when you spend as much time shopping as I do,
you just watch the prices go up.
May I leave the table, please, mom?
Yeah, when you finish your milk. Yeah, finish it.
Don't you want some more ice cream, Mike?
Let me give you some coffee, Abe.
Kids today! People starving don't have that much.
Mama, coffee?
No, no, no.
Uh, Abe, some cakes?
Uh, no... All right, just a little piece. It's very good.
- Anna? - Thank you, mama.
You're right, Anna, the price of living has gone up 5%.
Well, I think when Johnny asks for the national contract,
he ought to ask for at least 8% raise.
You're going for a national contract?
I'm thinking about it.
Oh, I think it's a good idea.
No, you don't understand, Anna.
To get 8%, you'd probably have to sign a no-strike clause.
Without that, we got no leverage.
Well, maybe you're right.
Here's to old times.
Good times.
Wish Molly were here.
Oh, she misses you all and sends her love.
Yeah.
So every couple of years you miss me, you come back.
What's on your mind?
Toys.
Toys?
You know that model truck you got sitting on your desk?
Sure.
Every local in the country's got one.
$100 a piece.
Over 1,000 locals in the country.
That's a lot of money, Johnny.
It is a lot of money.
How come you bought one?
My secretary got it.
You got one the same reason my local got one.
'Cause we all got a letter from Max Graham suggesting we get a couple.
Mmm-hmm.
You know who owns the company made those toys, Johnny?
No.
Graham's wife.
You sure?
Oh, yeah.
It's right out of the guys' pockets.
Wait a minute. You heard.
You have any proof?
Want me to forget about it?
Did I say that? Let me look into it.
Then what?
Well, if it checks out, I'll do something about it.
Like what?
Hey, Abe, do you think I'd let that bum get away
with taking from the guys, do you?
Let me handle it. Ok?
What did you and Abe talk about?
He thinks that Graham is taking from the guys.
Is he?
He doesn't have any proof.
Wha-what are you gonna do about it?
I don't know.
You know Abe, he's always getting carried away.
Johnny?
Yeah?
Maybe you'd better check it out.
I think I'll have Bernie do that.
But first, I'm gonna check you out.
Ah, oh, yeah, I love you, girl.
Strike! Yeah!
All right!
Lucky?
All right, you're up, Babe.
Oh, you're hot tonight, kid.
I've been working on it.
So, you had a nice time in Washington, huh?
It's still Washington.
Hey, I saw you on television.
Everybody in Detroit's talking about you.
Yeah? What are they saying about me?
They wish they had you up there, to keep an eye on Henry Ford.
Strike.
Ah, John, John, how are the boys, huh?
How's Mike and, uh, Kevin?
Uh, they're still growing, still growing.
Oh, that's nice. That's very nice.
My boy, Anthony, he's off to college.
Yeah?
West Point.
- West Point? - Yeah.
Where do the years go, huh?
They just go.
Oh, John, John, my partners and I,
we had a little discussion, um.
We, uh, need an extension on that last loan.
Well, that's gonna be hard.
Hard. Nobody said life is easy.
How much more?
$2.5 million.
Yeah.
I don't think you have that kind of collateral.
We got years of collateral, John. Years.
You're up, Johnny.
That's some manicure you got.
Manicure?
What's the matter with a manicure?
All these years, John.
All these years and you're still a hunky?
There he is.
How you been?
Just between you and me...
we'll take care of it.
You were right about Graham. It checked out.
You got the proof?
Well, Bernie's got records showing that
Graham's wife owned that toy company in Oakland.
That's misappropriation of union funds.
When this gets out...
it's not gonna get out.
What do you mean, it's not gonna get out?
Look, we don't need any bad press.
Well, what about Graham?
Let me handle it.
We'll take care of 'em.
We got a great team here.
Johnny.
Uh, uh, uh, talk to Eddie. Come in! Come in.
We'll, uh, finish this up later, Karen.
We're not interrupting anything, are we, Max?
It'll keep.
How you doin', Max? Vince.
Good to see you. How are you?
Bernie. Mr. Graham.
- Johnny. - How are you, Max?
- You're looking good. - Thanks.
How about a drink?
Not before noon.
Bernie?
No, thank you.
Vince?
No.
Well,
I'll have one. Here's looking at you.
You like the ponies, Max?
What?
The track. Do you like the track?
What do you mean?
Well, sometimes I see a race or 2, sure. But, I, uh...
You sure you don't want a drink?
Max, you own a horse named Dancing Fancy?
Yeah.
You have a trainer named Rafelli?
Danny Rafelli.
The trainer's on salary as a business agent?
He looks after our interests at the track.
You have a public relations firm in Philadelphia?
I'm a partner, yeah, yeah.
John Gottlieb and associates, that you paid $75,000 to last year?
That's legitimate union business.
Most of that money was used on yourself for personal effects.
Now, wait a minute. Sometimes they bought me a gift.
"6 dozen undershirts, 8 television sets,
these are business gifts.
"Golf balls and clubs.
Sheets and pillowcases, 30 pairs of nylons, 2 lawn mowers."
What about that toy company your wife has?
What did you make off that, Max?
23 years ago, you said to me, "you'd take, Kovak."
You should've never said that, Max.
When I was first elected president of this union,
we had 200,000 members.
Today
we're over 2 million.
The past 20 years have been the best years of my life.
And so it's with a heavy heart
that I tell you
that because of medical and family problems...
I cannot stand for another term.
No!
I place in nomination
a man who has the respect of every member,
the head of our Midwest council for many years,
the only man capable of leading this great union,
Johnny Kovak.
Kovak! Kovak! Kovak!
By joining hands
with your brothers all over this country
and your brothers in Canada,
Puerto Rico,
Hawaii,
we'll see this international moving together
as never before.
And with your support,
I will get you the biggest pay hike in the history of this union!
You work hard, you deserve it.
And I'm gonna see that you get it.
I promise you that.
Kovak! Kovak!
FIST!
God bless you.
And with your support,
I will get youthe biggest pay hike in the history of this union!
And I'm gonna see that you get it.
There were more than 1,000 delegates
on the convention floor as John D. Kovak
received an almost unanimous endorsement
as the new international president
of the powerful Federation of Interstate Truckers.
Washington: President Eisenhower told newsmen that...
Well, I'll tell you who's a very happy man tonight: Babe Milano.
You know, I think we should check into Kovak.
No, no, no.
You keep working on Milano.
See what you can dig up.
And I'm going to stay very close to Mr. Kovak.
Do you have a car, congressman?
Car? I don't even have a driver's license.
Oh, that's too bad, you'll never get in the union that way.
Oh, well, we can always go back to the farm, can't we?
Hh, Senator, Senator.
You, uh... Mr. Kovak, you know Senator Madison, don't you?
Sure, and what's the rackets committee up to nowadays, Senator?
Well, we've been busy investigating "push" of various kinds.
Oh, is that a fact?
That's a fact.
Well, "push" is something that every politician, I'm sure, knows about.
Oh, come on.
Even the politicians in the labor movement?
I'm no politician, Senator.
That's right, you're not.
Goodnight, Mr. Kovak.
Goodnight, Senator.
Oh, uh,
give my regards to Milano.
You know him?
Not as well as you do, no.
Johnny.
Don't let him get to you.
I don't plan on it.
Gentlemen, the cost of living increase is 5.5%.
You want 8% hike, Mr. Kovak?
We'll go 7%.
8%, the number is 8%.
We will go 7% only.
With a no-strike clause.
And a flat guarantee you'll settle all wildcats within 48 hours.
You want guarantees, then you'll pay the price, won't you?
The price is too high, Mr. Kovak.
So are your profits.
All right, gentlemen,
after much deliberation, we're willing to go
to a ceiling of 7.5% across the board.
We think that's more than fair.
Of course you do.
But the number, gentlemen, is 8%.
7.5%.
8%.
7.5%.
8%.
Absolutely no way, Kovak.
I thought you were smart businessmen.
But you're not.
You have any idea how much revenue
you're gonna lose on a national strike?
They went to 7%.
No!
7.5%.
No!
But you wanted 8%!
Yes!
I got you 8%!
I'm pleased that we're having
this closed executive session, gentlemen.
Because I believe that the rackets committee
should expand its investigations into another area.
Now I say this with, uh, some regret.
I have long had respect for the labor movement
and its accomplishments, but I find it frightening
that the head of one of the largest unions in this country
may, I say "may," have ties to
the bosses of organized crime.
So how about it, John?
Come on, they can't prove anything.
It's business, John.
You make loans out of the pension fund to all kinds of people.
You're charging us the same thing you charge everybody else.
Nothing wrong with that.
It's not smart.
Madison's got subpoenas in every local in the country.
Madison, Madison... Come on, will you?
He'll grab a couple of headlines, they'll fold the committee
and move on to something else.
What do you say, huh, John? Huh?
Our Dun & Bradstreet is the best.
Call it a favor.
When do these favors end?
This is the last favor, Babe.
What do you want?
This is a subpoena,
it requires you to open all your files.
You just tell me what you want.
I'll tell you what we want.
We want a list of local 302's financial assets from 1952.
We don't have 'em.
A list of banks where those assets are deposited.
We don't have 'em.
Names and salaries of Midwest council business agents.
We don't have 'em.
Records of local 302's property investments.
- "We don't have them." - We don't have 'em.
And what about, uh, 302's political contributions?
We don't have those, either.
What do you mean, you don't have them?
We had a burglary here last week, they cleaned out the files.
Ain't that right, Bernie?
That's right, Vince.
A burglary?
Yeah.
It's a real bad element moving into this neighborhood.
Robberies all over the place.
Well, I assume that you made out a police report.
Did you, Vince?
Absolutely.
Anything show up yet?
Oh, not so far, John.
You give them a call, make sure they're working on it.
Sure thing.
But, gentlemen, I don't think you understand.
That subpoena gives us the right to go through your files.
I want you to get out of my office.
I'll leave your office, Mr. Kovak.
But when I come back next time,
it'll be with a federal marshal.
Don't waste the taxpayers' money, Senator,
we have a clean outfit here.
You wanna get a reputation? Get it somewhere else.
Let's go, Daley.
We've got still another problem.
What?
Abe's called a wildcat strike.
What?
Yeah.
He can't do that, we've got a national contract.
That son of a bitch. What's he trying to do?
He says he doesn't care about any contract.
He's going out in 48 hours.
What's goin' on here?
Abe Belkin?
You know who the hell I am.
You got an unauthorized strike here.
Uh, we've been instructed by the national office
not to honor this picket line.
Who instructed you?
"Vincent Doyle, senior vice president."
You mean to tell me that we're brothers in the same union
and you won't honor this picket line?
You got an unauthorized wildcat strike here!
I don't give a damn!
...Of the strikers were hospitalized.
Here in Washington, Senator Andrew Madison of Pennsylvania,
the chairman of the senate rackets committee
said he will hold public hearings to probe
alleged underworld ties with the union.
Well, I think it's a sad day for the labor movement of this country
when any union has to resort to force
to deal with its own rank and file.
Will you call Mr. Kovak to testify?
You can count on that.
The Boston Herald said today,
that vice president Nixon is the overwhelming choice...
What the hell did you do?
What the hell did you do, Vince?
I didn't do nothing, Johnny.
I said, "stop it."
I didn't say, "put them in the hospital."
Nobody meant to hurt nobody.
You think Madison's gonna buy that? Do you?
Do you think the press is gonna buy it?
I've just about had it with you, Vince.
Babe, give us a comment.
How much do they stand to lose in this?
It's a beautiful day, isn't it?
It's a beautiful day, Mr. Milano.
But you're gonna be losing a lot of money
in these operations that have been implicated.
I love your hat.
You're a friend of, uh, John D. Kovak,
aren't you, Mr. Milano?
Mr. Milano?
Mr. Milano, please, I said, uh,
you're a friend of John D. Kovak, aren't you?
Well, I know him, sure.
How long have you had this friendship?
Oh, I know him,
I don't know, I've known him a long time, Senator.
A long time. Well is it 5, 10, 20 years?
20 years, I'd say.
Have you ever had any trouble with the police?
A long time ago, Senator.
But I'm not gonna deny it.
Well, could you give us a list of your arrests?
No, I can't recall.
You can't recall?
You can't recall "extortion, bribery, suspicion of murder,
Suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder"?
Now isn't it a fact, Mr. Milano,
that you are one of the leading figures
of organized crime in this country?
No, it's not. I am a businessman, that's all.
Besides, there's no such thing as that.
As what?
That, uh, uh, organized crime.
Whenever crime happens, it's always pretty disorganized, you ask me.
I'd like to ask you a question, Mr. Milano.
Isn't it a fact that you own the major interest
of the Pyramid Enterprises Corporation of Las Vegas?
It's all on my income tax form you have, Senator.
And that corporation recently secured a loan of $2.5 million
from the pension fund of the Federation of Interstate Truckers?
Senator, that's no secret.
Did you talk to your friend, Mr. Kovak, about lending you the money?
I talked to the trustees of the pension fund.
Did you talk to your friend, Mr. Kovak, about giving you the loan?
Nobody likes to negotiate with him, Senator.
I'd rather negotiate with you any day.
State your name.
I respectfully decline to answer that question
because I honestly believe the answer might incriminate me.
Are you trying to say that
you are afraid if you give this committee your name,
that'll incriminate you?
It might.
Well, it must be very difficult to have a name that's such a burden.
Isn't it a fact, Mr. Doyle,
that without the consent of the membership,
union funds are being used to further the interests
of organized crime in this country?
I respectfully... I object to this line of questioning.
We've already... answer the question.
I refuse to answer that question
because I honestly believe that the answers might tend to incriminate me.
Well, is there any question that this committee
could possibly ask you whose answer would not incriminate you?
I respectfully decline...
That's enough.
You disgust me, Sir.
We'll reconvene at 9:00, Monday morning.
I'll tell you something,
all the trucks and all the horn honking are not going to stop me
from putting Mr. Kovak on the stand.
I'm worried about this country.
I'm worried about the fact that he paralyzed this city.
Well, he paralyzed the nation's capital.
Doesn't that mean anything to you?
Or does he own you, too?
What the hell are you talking about?
I'll tell you what the hell I'm talking about.
You work for Johnny Kovak
and he's owned by Babe Milano.
It's that simple.
I work for the union, nobody else.
We'll handle our own problems.
When?
You see,
my committee's ready to handle it now.
Not years from now.
Think about that.
Well, I...I could say that your silence condones what's happening.
All we need
is a little filler. Background.
Mr. Belkin, please.
Johnny, will you listen to what I'm telling you?
Abe is going to testify.
He came here see Madison.
I don't believe that, Vince.
I've had a tail on him for days. He was there.
I can't believe that. Didn't I tell you?
Didn't I tell you, someday that son of a bitch would turn on you?
All right, Vince, you told me, but I can't believe that.
Well, Johnny, you'd better believe it.
Listen, I think we've got to get Milano to handle this...
No, I want Milano out of it.
Johnny, you know what's going to come out?
All the stuff about the jukeboxes, the loans, everything.
They're gonna pin a bribe on you.
Vince, I never took nothing in my life, and you know that.
They're gonna ruin you and they're gonna ruin us
and they're gonna ruin this union.
Shut up! No one's gonna ruin the union!
Tell him.
Vince is right, Johnny.
You know the kind of heat we're getting?
I'm not just talking about me.
All of us.
I can handle 'em.
The Justice Department, The Treasury, F.B.I.
You're gonna handle the whole government?
What do you want me to do, Babe, run?
I don't know.
I was talking to some of my friends.
Maybe you ought to let Vince run it for a while, huh?
Resign? You want me to resign?
You got to think of the heat, John.
Look, you don't tell me how to run my union.
Now listen, we've been very good to you.
You don't tell me that, all right?
Belkin testifies, you're through.
He isn't going to take that stand.
Don't even think it. You hear me?
John.
Hey,
we've been friends a long time.
We ain't never been friends.
Kovak, time to retire.
Can I help you?
Yes, I'd like to talk to Abe Belkin.
Abe Belkin is not here now. If you'd like...
Johnny. It's all right.
Hello, Molly.
Johnny, you shouldn't have come here.
Well, I gotta talk to Abe.
He doesn't want to talk.
But it's important to both of you that I talk to him.
Please, he doesn't...
Who is it?
It's Johnny.
Johnny.
Johnny! Remember me? Babe, it's all right.
Sorry.
It's Johnny Kovak, from the union?
What the hell are you doing down here, Abe?
It's all right, Walt.
We've got nothing to talk about.
How you feeling?
Fine.
Good.
What's that you're fixing? A chair?
Yeah.
You always were pretty good with your hands.
Johnny, say what you gotta say.
All right.
Look, Abe, you've got a family.
That's got to be the most important thing to you. Am I right?
It is. It's your job to stay safe.
So please, we have problems.
Don't testify for Madison.
Let's take it before the union review board.
Johnny, you are the union review board.
I don't want to see you get hurt.
Are you gonna hurt me, Johnny?
No.
I came to help.
I know.
All I want to do is clean it up. Get it right.
Get rid of Milano, Doyle.
People like that who never should have been allowed in.
Sorry, Johnny, you slept with them, I didn't.
I don't owe them nothing.
Yeah, but I had to make deals, you should know that.
I know, I know.
Do you have to do it?
Yeah.
Then do it.
You know what the problem is? Hmm?
What?
We should never have left the old neighborhood.
Yeah.
Come here.
Take care of yourself, all right?
Are you sure you don't want me to come?
No, I don't want you to be bothered by all those reporters.
I can stay in the hotel.
No, it's best you stay here.
Now, this won't be a long trip, all right?
Ok, so you call as soon as you land.
Sure, sure.
Where're the boys?
In school.
I must be growing senile.
I love you.
What brought that on?
It must be the heat.
You stay out of the heat.
Ok, this is a holdup!
Everybody down on the floor!
Get down on the floor!
Everybody down on the floor!
Everybody down, nobody gets hurt!
Get on the floor.
Stay down on the floor, nobody gets hurt.
Don't move.
Hurry up.
Don't look up here, lady.
Stop moving.
Run, Abe, get out of here!
Go!
Government used to use
goons and clubs against us, now they use Senators.
Mr. Kovak, are you not
in connection with Babe Milano?
Mr. Kovak, can we have a quote, please?
You want to rise, Mr. Kovak?
Do you solemnly swear the evidence you give before
this senate select committee shall be the truth,
the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
I do.
Can we have quiet, please?
Can we have quiet?
I'm sure we all want to hear every single word that Mr. Kovak has to say.
But, uh, before we begin this hearing,
I'd like to express my sympathy.
Abe Belkin, a west coast union official,
who was scheduled to testify here today
was killed less than 12 hours ago.
Senator Madison, Senator Madison.
Senator Madison, in consideration of these events
I move for a postponement of this hearing for at least 48 hours.
I am sure we're all aggrieved by Mr. Belkin's demise,
but I don't see that for grounds of postponement beyond belief.
Does Mr. Kovak wish to have a postponement?
And if so, uh, for what reasons?
Senator, I'm sure everybody here realizes how close that mister...
I came to testify. I'll testify.
All right, thank you, Mr. Kovak.
Uh, just for the record.
You are the, uh, international president
of the Federation of Interstate Truckers, are you not?
Yes.
Would you speak up? We can't hear you.
Yes.
And how many members do you have in your union?
Nearly 3 million.
And what exactly is the scope of your authority as president?
I represent the men.
Is that all?
In a recent article in a national magazine you are quoted as stating:
"Everything on wheels" is yours.
I represent the men.
But isn't it frightening to think of all that power in the hands of one man?
No, Senator, it doesn't.
I see.
Isn't it a fact that the Federation in your hands
gained a reputation for, uh, strongarm tactics?
That's not true.
And isn't it a fact that many of your members,
especially the business agents, have criminal records?
Some.
Oh, you admit that?
Senator, because a man makes a mistake, should his life be ruined?
I was arrested over 30 times in strike actions
trying to get a decent living wage.
Am I a criminal for that?
Do you think that, uh, Vincent Doyle,
a vice president of your union,
should be suspended from office
because he refused to, uh, testify here
on the grounds of self-incrimination?
If he takes the fifth.
That's right.
It's part of the bill of rights, it's in the constitution.
It's what this country's all about.
Now you make the laws, Senator, I don't.
I can't go against that.
Do, uh, do you know Anthony Milano?
I know him.
You're friends?
I know him.
Well, didn't your union recently give one of Mr. Milano's concerns,
the pyramid enterprises corporation of Las Vegas,
a loan of $2.5 million from your pension fund
and additional loans totaling $6.2 million?
Yes.
Did Mr. Milano ask you to get him that loan as a favor?
He asked the trustees.
Well, you're one of the pension fund trustees.
Yes, I am.
So then you voted to give him the loan?
Along with 11 others.
How long have you known Mr. Milano?
A long time.
Well, have you and Mr. Milano ever been involved
in, uh, previous business transactions?
There might have been one, I don't remember.
I have here a sworn statement by Abe Belkin stating otherwise.
And what about the Haley Jukebox Company of Pontiac, Michigan?
Isn't it a fact, Mr. Kovak,
that when you headed the Midwest council of your union,
you forced businessmen to use Haley jukeboxes?
I personally never forced anyone to do that.
Isn't it a fact that you told bar owners
that unless they used Haley jukeboxes
your drivers would never deliver liquor to them?
Senator, at...at the time, I didn't have a choice.
Oh, come on now, Mr. Kovak.
We all have a choice. Isn't it a fact that at the time
the Haley Jukebox Company was owned by Mr. Anthony Milano?
He may have had an interest in it, yes.
Yes. And isn't it true that
to convince you to help his firm Mr. Milano paid you a bribe?
That's a lie.
That's... get away from me.
A bribe in the form of a wedding present?
That's a lie you dreamed up for your headlines.
You're under oath here, Sir,
and I want to tell you something.
I have tapes and I have depositions here that says you're dreaming
if you think you can discredit this senate hearing.
You are under oath, Sir.
I know what I'm under, Senator,
I'm telling you I never took anything in my life.
Nothing?
Nothing.
Did you ever kill anybody, Mr. Kovak?
No, Senator, I never killed anybody.
So your answer's "no"?
That's right.
What's right?
That's right, that I never killed anybody.
Are you sure?
Isn't it a fact, that in 1938,
in a strike riot led by you,
you killed a man with an axe handle?
Senator, it was self-defense.
And isn't it a fact that you continually
and repeatedly beat him about the head until you caused his death?
It was self-defense.
Answer the question, Mr. Kovak.
Did you commit murder in 1938?
Or more importantly,
did you conspire to arrange for the murder of Abe Belkin less than 12 hours ago?
That's a lie!
I am not gonna sit here and be accused of all kinds of things
without a shred of evidence.
Answer the question.
I tried to give you the truth. You don't want the truth. Abe was like my brother.
You're not answering the question...
We lived and we built this union together.
What the hell do you know about anything?
You just wanna see your name in the paper
next to a bunch of goddamn lies. Get off me!
You think I'm gonna sit here and let you make a living off of my brother's blood,
you son of a bitch? We can hold you in contempt.
You do whatever you want. I am not answering anything anymore.
Well then, Sir, you are in contempt! I hold you in contempt!
I hold this hearing in contempt!
I hold Milano in contempt!
I hold myself in contempt!
Silence, please. Silence.
Kovak! Kovak!
What are we?
FIST!
What are we?
FIST!
What are we?
FIST! FIST!
You look tired.
Yeah, it's late, Bernie.
Thank you.
Listen, do you want to come in for a drink?
Thanks, Johnny, but I am really tired.
Sure.
Bernie, it's just that I wanted to talk.
Do you want to talk?
Johnny, if it's ok with you, I just want to go home and get some sleep.
Sure, I understand. Good night.
Get some rest.
I'll see you in the office in the morning.
Yeah. Goodnight, Bernie.
Anna.
Anna!
Anna, no!
Anna!