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A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6

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METALLURGY LANE

Metallurgy Lane, authored by ASM life member Charles R. Simcoe, is a continuing series dedicated to the early history of the U.S.

metals and materials industries along with key milestones and developments.

THE INTEGRATED STEEL INDUSTRY—PART III

THE ADVENT OF “LITTLE STEEL” AND THE STRIKE OF 1937 HAD

A LASTING IMPACT ON THE DOMESTIC STEEL INDUSTRY

AND LABOR RELATIONS IN PARTICULAR.

S

teel companies that emerged in

the Midwest to serve the grow-

ing manufacturing markets in

Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan were much

smaller than United States Steel Corp.

(USS), and therefore referred to as “Lit-

tle Steel.” These companies included

Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. (YS&T)

in Ohio, Inland Steel Co. in Chicago,

Jones & Laughlin Steel Co. (J&L) in

Pittsburgh, The American Rolling Mill

Co. (ARMCO) in Middletown, Ohio,

Republic Steel Co. in Cleveland, and

National Steel Corp. in Detroit. These six

companies—combined with Bethlehem

Steel who joined them in their crusade

to prevent employees from forming a

union—gained notoriety by displaying

the worst reaction to organized labor

in the history of American steelmaking.

Labor unrest was common in the

steel industry. Low wages, a hot and

dirty work environment, unsafe con-

ditions, and poor treatment of work-

ers lead to strikes. One serious strike

occurred at YS&T in 1916 where work-

ers were fired on by company guards,

killing two and wounding more than

100. The incident resulted in a riot

that burned down part of the city of

Youngstown. These isolated strikes

were often limited to one company or

one plant and were therefore never suc-

cessful. Steelworkers were unable to

form an organization that would lead to

industry-wide action and there was no

legal basis for workers to join a union

like those that protected corporations.

Therefore, company officials could call

on the police or the National Guard

to break up a strike and protect their

property. This lack of legal protection

for workers was corrected during the

Franklin D. Roosevelt administration.

NATIONAL LABOR

RELATIONS ACT

Congress passed a labor bill writ-

ten by Senator Robert F. Wagner of

New York that became known as the

National Labor Relations Act, signed

by President Roosevelt on July 5, 1935.

The Act gave workers the right to orga-

nize and bargain with management

for wages, hours, and other benefits.

The Act also established a National

Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to over-

see elections and examine company

labor policies. Forty-five years after the

worker struggle at Homestead—where

Henry Frick faced down strikers with

300 armed guards—labor finally had

the backing of the federal government

for the right to form unions to negotiate

with management.

However, the immediate problem

was finding an organization that could

assist steelworkers with organizing a

nationwide union movement. John L.

Lewis, president of the national United

Mine Workers union for coal miners,

formed a Steel Workers Organizing Com-

mittee (SWOC). Using officials from his

own union, he recruited workers from

the steel industry. He selected Philip

Murray to head the activity. The SWOC

demanded a $5 per day, 40-hour work

week, plus time and a half for overtime.

Lewis’s first goal was to organize

the largest steel companies, believing

that the smaller firms would follow.

His breakthrough came in March 1937

when he and Myron Taylor, president of

USS, signed an agreement to recognize

the SWOC for its 225,000 workers. How-

ever, Lewis had misjudged the reac-

tion of the Little Steel companies and

Bethlehem Steel. With regard to Taylor,

Lewis was working with an individual

with a background in law and finance

as well as experience in industries other

than steel. However, with Little Steel

and Bethlehem, Lewis faced two of the

most anti-union men in the history of

steel—Eugene Grace and Tom Girdler.

GRACE AND GIRDLER

Eugene Grace began work as a

crane operator at Bethlehem in 1898

right out of Lehigh University. Under

Charles Schwab, he advanced to pres-

ident within 16 years. He adopted his

attitude toward labor fromSchwabwho

had been superintendent of the Home-

stead plant during the 1892 strike. From

that event, Schwab formed his extreme

attitude toward unions.

Tom Girdler was another enemy of

the labor unions. He became president

of J&L, but left to take over the newly

formedRepublic Steel Co. in 1930. To pro-

tect their companies during the unrest of

the 1930s, Bethlehem and Republic Steel

Founded in 1936, the Congress of Indus-

trial Organizations (CIO) achieved victory

when it forced the “Little Steel” compa-

nies to finally recognize the Steel Workers

Organizing Committee as the bargaining

agent for its steelworkers in 1942. Courte-

sy of explorepahistory.com.