Liksom de flesta i den lilla staden i södern jobbar Norma på den stora, slamriga textilfabriken. Ett lågavlönat, slitsamt jobb där cheferna härskar över arbetarna likt vakter i ett straffläger. När ett fackombud från New York försöker ena de anställda att starta ett eget fackförbund möts han med vettskrämd tystnad. Av alla utom Norma Rae.

In 1900, a clan attempts to strike a deal with a Chicago industrialist to get him to build cotton mills in their Deep South town.

A historical drama set in 1889, Chandler's Mill examines the plight of workers, and particularly child workers, in the New Brunswick wool industry. The story revolves around the efforts of one young teenage girl to better the lives of her friend and other workers, on the eve of a public hearing of the Canadian Royal Commission on Capital and Labour. Through the use of historical re-enactment, Chandler's Mill explores the issues of child labour, worker's rights and union organizing in 19th-century Canada.

Successful middle-aged manufacturer Frank Parry takes a business trip to New York, where he becomes infatuated with Eva Boutelle, manager of the Swansea Cotton Mills. For a time, their affair develops, but Eva remains true to her husband ...

Director Denys Arcand made an inquiry on textile industry in Quebec, meeting employers and workers of that industry.