United States

• Fist
• Federation of Interstate Truckers

Cleveland, Ohio....1937. A Group of factory workers at a food storage plant, disgusted at the low wages, the absence of overtime pay and the fact that they are responsible for accidental damage to the goods they handle, decide that they have had about as much as they can take. Johnny Kovak (Stallone), a tough resilient character who refuses to be pushed around any longer, organises an on-the-spot protest but in spite of managerial promises that things will improve, him and his fellow malcontents are fired. Johnny's ability to command a following amongst the men is however, noticed by truck driver Mike Monohan, president of the local branch of F.I.S.T. (the Federation of Interstate Truckers). As a result, Kovak is employed by the union to sign up new members. As soon as he meets with some success (the membership grows from 100 to 500), he is approached on dark nights by capitalist lackeys wielding iron bars. And when Kovak encourages his members to strike, the company president recruits a team of hired thugs to break the picket lines. In desperation, Kovak calls on a childhood friend-turned-gangster for assistance, and with the help of professional muscle, wins a violent battle for the strikers, whose demands are finally met. Years later, through his gift of rhetoric and a touch of blackmail, Kovak is appointed president of the union. at the same time, however, his underworld connections become too strong for him to break, and the alliance of F.I.S.T. with organised crime eventually attracts an investigative committee in Washington D.C. headed by Senator Andrew Madison. For Kovak, the end is in sight.