Men of Steel: Driven to Desperation for Much of the 20Th Century, An

Men of Steel: Driven to Desperation For much of the 20th century, an image easily came to mind when someone mentioned, “The American Steelworker.” This was a man who looked to his past, whose father before him and his grandfather before his father all lived and worked in the same steel town. He was blue collar but proud; after all, the work of his union and even his friends quite literally created the framework for some of our country’s greatest achievements. What steelworkers lacked in college education they made up for in loyalty and hard work. Many of these men called Buffalo, New York their home. Since its beginnings in the early 19th century, Buffalo has been a center for trade and industry due to its location on the shores of Lake Erie and the bank of the Niagara River. In the city’s beginnings many Buffalonians, as the people of Buffalo are known, worked in grain harvesting and that hardworking spirit carried them into the 20th century. The industry of the city grew to include automobile manufacturing and, as we see in The Full Monty, steel. Bethlehem Steel Company, the second largest producer of American steel, was founded in 1857 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In 1922 they acquired Lackawanna Steel Company, based just outside of Buffalo. Their acquisitions continued and the company built new plants and shipyards in California, Texas, Indiana, and all over the East Coast, owning more than fifteen plants at the company’s height. For the next six decades the company enjoyed great prosperity and contributed to many of the United States’ most beloved landmarks, producing steel for the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, and the Hoover Dam. In the 1930s the company made the steel parts of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time. Their work had an impact on the course of history as well. During World War II, Bethlehem Steel was ranked among the top ten producers of wartime products for the United States due to their involvement in manufacturing armor plates, large-caliber guns, and ships for the US Navy. The president of Bethlehem Steel, Eugene Grace, promised President Franklin Roosevelt one ship per day from the company’s shipbuilding unit. He over-delivered on his commitment by about fifteen ships and ended up supplying 1,121 ships - more than a fifth of the entire fleet. During the war across all of their plants the company employed 300,000 people, including women who were hired to replace many of their male employees who volunteered to serve or were conscripted in the draft. Bethlehem Shipyard workers pose during World War I. Source: Union Ironworks Bethlehem In peacetime Bethlehem Steel reached peak success, as they were able to capitalize on the complete destruction of the steel industries abroad in Germany and Japan. In the 1950s the company produced over 23 million tons of steel per year and in 1958 their president, Arthur Homer, was the highest paid business executive in the United States. At the company there were 32 different departments, from the men who worked to produce steel in the factories and truck drivers to higher levels of management. Often with only a high school diploma men entered the workforce with health benefits, a retirement plan, and a sense of upward mobility in their company. Women who enjoyed employment during World War II returned to their homes, including new ones being built in the suburbs, as their husbands reclaimed their jobs in the workforce. Under these circumstances, the steel industry became a huge source of pride for the people of Buffalo, New York. The steel mill was the center of life for many workers and their families. When boys graduated high school there was no need to leave home and pursue a college degree when they could enter the mill. The transition from boys to men happened quickly; often the young men of steel towns got married, owned a house, and had two kids by the time they were thirty. The mill became more than just a job. It was a large part of their social life and self-identity, from the annual steel mill holiday parties to adult recreational sports teams organized by occupation or union. It was not unusual for a baseball or basketball team to be called “The Steelworkers.” It’s no coincidence that in Pittsburgh, another town that prospered under the American steel industry, our football team is called “The Steelers.” Bethlehem Steel Soccer Team, 1921. Source: Sidelines Magazine After a decade of immense prosperity, the 1960s brought signs of the downfall that was to come. In 1967 the Bethlehem Steel lost a bid to four smaller American companies to supply 50,000 tons of steel for construction of the World Trade Center. By the 1970s, rebuilt foreign firms were becoming serious competition. They were open to the introduction of modern techniques that companies like Bethlehem Steel resisted, and as a result the steel they produced was cheaper than that of domestic companies. Due to foreign impact and a failure to properly invest during their prime, by 1982, Bethlehem Steel reported a loss of $1.5 billion and began the process of shutting down. Steel workers protest in Washington D.C., 1982. Source: World Socialist Website By the early 1990s towns across Midwestern and Northeastern United States were affected by the collapse of the steel industry and the closures of mills. Bethlehem Steel laid off over 212,000 employees, and in some steel towns unemployment reached 27%, which was higher than the national unemployment rate at the worst moments of the Great Depression. For the first time since World War II, women were returning to the workforce in large numbers. Women were largely finding jobs in health care or social assistance, education, and retail, and while they earned less than men in similar positions, many of their jobs offered full or partial benefits and were relatively flexible and understanding towards mothers with young children. In Buffalo, and every other steel town affected by these shutdowns, losing a mill meant more than just losing a job. The mill was not only a part of the identity of the individuals employed but was a part of the fabric of the towns themselves. People were concerned first with the immediate problems facing their community: where could the husbands and fathers find work that would allow them to support their families? As they attempted to address these immediate concerns, in the back of their minds questions of an uncertain future loomed. What was a boy supposed to do after high school without a mill job awaiting him? What was the future of a town where kids grew up and then left in search of opportunities? These are the questions that hang over the characters of The Full Monty. The men, in a state of complete financial turmoil, find themselves torn between holding on to their dignity and the remnants of their lives. Without jobs and money, some of the most basic joys of everyday life are left hanging by a very thin thread: being able to live on your own, provide for your wife, or even share custody of your own child. When you’ve lost everything but the clothes on your back… what’s a man to do? .

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