Recorded in the coal nation of West Virginia, "Matewan" celebrates labor arranging in the context of a 1920s work stoppage. Union organizer, Joe Kenehan, a scab named "Couple of Clothing" Johnson and also a sympathetic mayor as well as cops principal heroically fight the power stood for by a coal company and Matewan's beneficial interests so that justice and also employees' civil liberties need not take a back seat to squalid working problems, exploitation and the bottom line.