Editing Salt of the Earth (1954 film) (section)

==Plot==
[[File:Sotecouplepic.jpg|left|thumb|Esperanza and Ramón]]
Esperanza Quintero is a miner's wife in Zinc Town, [[New Mexico]], a community which is essentially run and owned by Delaware Zinc, Inc. Esperanza is thirty-five years old, pregnant with her third child and emotionally dominated by her husband, Ramón Quintero.<ref name=TCM_synopsis>{{cite web |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/88949/salt-of-the-earth#synopsis |title=Synopsis of ''Salt of the Earth'' |publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies|TCM]]}}</ref> We know from her concern about her ''onomásticos'' or ''día de mi/su santo'' (a.k.a. [[Name Day]]) that it is 12 November as that is the ''onomásticos'' of persons named Esperanza.

The majority of the miners are [[Mexican-Americans]] and want decent working conditions equal to those of white or "[[Anglo]]" miners. The [[Trade union|unionized]] workers go on strike, but the company refuses to negotiate and the impasse continues for months. Esperanza gives birth and, simultaneously, Ramón is beaten by police and jailed on bogus assault charges following an altercation with a union worker who betrayed his fellows. When Ramón is released, Esperanza tells him that he's no good to her in jail. He counters that if the strike succeeds, they will not only get better conditions right now but also win hope for their children's futures.<ref name=TCM_synopsis/>

[[Image:salt104.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Miners before they strike]]

The company presents a [[Labor Management Relations Act of 1947|Taft-Hartley Act]] injunction to the union, meaning any miners who picket will be arrested. Taking advantage of a loophole, the wives picket in their husbands' places. Some men dislike this tactic, seeing it as improper and dangerous. At first, Ramón forbids Esperanza from picketing, but she eventually joins the line while carrying her baby.<ref name=TCM_synopsis/>

The sheriff, by company orders, arrests the leading women of the strike. Esperanza is among those taken to jail. The women are loud and unruly in jail and make it so unendurable for the sheriff, he releases them.<ref name=LATimes_review>{{cite news |last=Gross |first=Linda |date=7 February 1976 |title='Salt of Earth' at the Royal |url=https://cinefiles.bampfa.berkeley.edu/catalog/4802 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=17 August 2013 |via=CineFiles}}</ref> When Esperanza returns home, Ramón tells her the strike is hopeless, as the company will easily outlast the miners. She insists that the union is stronger than ever and asks Ramón why he can't accept her as an equal in their marriage. Both angry, they sleep separately that night.<ref name=TCM_synopsis/>

The next day the company evicts the Quintero family from their house. The union men and women arrive to protest the eviction. Ramón tells Esperanza that they can all fight together. The mass of workers and their families prove successful in saving the Quinteros' home. The company admits defeat and plans to negotiate. Esperanza believes that the community has won something no company can ever take away and it will be inherited by her children.<ref name=TCM_synopsis/>