William Penn Life, 2003 (38. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2003-01-01 / 1. szám
_1---L Branching Out with Endre Csornán Immigrants of steel Life in and around the mills was never easy DURING THE PAST YEAR, I HAVE written several articles about coal miners and their harsh lives. This time, I would like to dedicate my column to the pioneers of the mighty steel industry that once employed tens of thousands of people of different nationalities throughout the Mon, Beaver, Shenango and Mahoning valleys in Pennsylvania. Many of our members worked in the steel industry for more than 100 years. At the beginning of the 1890's, the steel workers lived and raised families in the shadow of the towering smoke stacks that belched dirt and red ash. Most of the homes had no indoor plumbing or clean water. Pennsylvania towns like Johnstown, Leechburg, Braddock, Duquesne, Homestead, Hazelwood, Aliquippa, Midland, Beaver Falls and Sharon, and Ohio towns like Youngstown, made biblical Babel sound tame. Hungarians, Slovaks, Poles, Croatians, Italians, Russians and many others worked together at different mills such as Jones & Laughlin, U.S. Steel, Carnegie Steel, Allegheny Ludlum, Armco, Crucible, Republic Steel, Babcock & Wilcox and too many others to mention. It was to the company's best interest to segregate or divide the ethnic groups. Each neighborhood had its own ethnic church, social clubs, lodges and grocery stores featuring food from back home. It is interesting to note that when the Hungarians came to the steelproducing region, they settled in neighborhoods populated by people from their old home village. Most of them worked in the same mills and same departments, such as the open hearths, melt shops or rolling mills. The type of jobs the newly arrived immigrants were given were the most dangerous. Thus, the rate of fatal industrial accidents amongst immigrants was double the norm. The immigrants did not speak English, so they could not understand the verbal warnings or the posted notices about danger. Factories and labor safety regulations made no provisions for the immigrants' lack of knowledge of their new work environment. Great numbers of our people fell on the battlefield of labor, killed by machines or burned to death by molten steel. It took many decades for the steelworkers to realize that they should have more rights, better working conditions and better pay. Of course, this only came about after the depression. There were many strikes and picketing which sometimes ended with violence. Many unarmed heroes of the labor movement were killed or jailed. By the late 30's the 12 to 14 hour shifts were replaced with eight-hour days. The working conditions, safety and benefits greatly improved over the years. Management finally respected seniority, and many steel companies provided many benefits to the towns, hospitals, schools and country clubs. While the companies flourished, so did the towns where they were located. Unfortunately, the bottom fell out by the late 80's, as most of the mills shut down or reduced production levels to a minimum. Thousands of steelworkers left their towns to go to other states to look for jobs. Many good families broke up, and many businesses closed. Most people struggled to survive. No one accepts the blame for the fall of the steel industry. The owners of the companies wanted to extend their profits as much as possible. So they ignored the foreign competition and refused to modernize their outdated plants. At the same time, the workers demanded higher wages and more benefits. I spent more than 30 years in the steel industry and have fond memories of the wonderful people I worked with, especially my Magyar coworkers. Overall, the industry has been good to our great counfay and the many workers who came from near and far to work and die in the mills. __i God bless their memory. HD William Nr Lilt, January 2003 3
