Bethlehem Steel & The People Who Built America

[Ace-Garageguy]

 

[MrObsessive]

My Dad worked at Bethlehem Steel here in Steelton from 1967 to 1998. He was never in the factory..........his job was mostly administrative in various offices during that time. I can remember Dad complaining in later years about how things were changing and as he saw it not for the better.

To give you a perspective on what he made when he first started, Dad wanted to buy a new car not long after he began working there. The '57 Plymouth Belvedere he had was getting a bit tired and Dad was a HUGE fan of Mercedes-Benz. Dad wanted badly a new '67 250(?) SL. He never bought the car though as he said the car cost as much as he made in an entire year.

$7000!

That's what he was making back then which wasn't bad money at all, but when your average Chevy and Plymouth was costing perhaps $3000, spending more than double that for a car was just too much for most people! And this was long before they had those super long drawn out payment cycles of six years plus which is crazy.

My how times have changed! The local plant here isn't Bethlehem Steel any longer, but Arcelor-Mittal. They're doing business well enough, but nothing like the boom days of the '60's.

Edited November 8, 2018 by MrObsessive

[dimaxion]

17 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

 

I did Pick up loads there also  Thanx .. Breaks my heart . My family was at least 3 Generations of Steel Workers in Youngstlw . Ohio . I hauled it once upon a time . Yes , Virginia , I did get a free "T" shirt for every load .   hanx .. 

 

Edited November 8, 2018 by dimaxion

[Jim N]

Unfortunately, the academics and politicians bought into free trade, and did so in a way not practiced anywhere else in the world.  They made our companies, and by extension, our workers compete on the basis of wage.  We had the highest standard of living because our wages were higher and we had to compete with countries that paid their workers a fraction of what our workers had to have to live.

I will never forget being told by these pin headed professors that a rising tide lifts all boats, so free trade would increase the standard of living for all.  Well we find out 50 years after we started this grand experiment that we created a state of equilibrium.  The countries we were forced to compete against were able to raise their wages, ours fell provided the jobs stayed here in the first place.

[dimaxion]

15 minutes ago, Jim N said:

Unfortunately, the academics and politicians bought into free trade, and did so in a way not practiced anywhere else in the world.  They made our companies, and by extension, our workers compete on the basis of wage.  We had the highest standard of living because our wages were higher and we had to compete with countries that paid their workers a fraction of what our workers had to have to live.

I will never forget being told by these pin headed professors that a rising tide lifts all boats, so free trade would increase the standard of living for all.  Well we find out 50 years after we started this grand experiment that we created a state of equilibrium.  The countries we were forced to compete against were able to raise their wages, ours fell provided the jobs stayed here in the first place.

Yes , no pesky Unions , Safety Standards , Environmental Concerns , Retirements and Employee perks to pay for , No Vacation Times topay for , No Health Care . What  DEAL .. It warms the cockles of my heart to see OUR Grandchildren working at Wal MArt thinking this is a GOOD JOB for life . God Bless .. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, Jim N said:

Unfortunately, the academics and politicians bought into free trade, and did so in a way not practiced anywhere else in the world.  They made our companies, and by extension, our workers compete on the basis of wage.  We had the highest standard of living because our wages were higher and we had to compete with countries that paid their workers a fraction of what our workers had to have to live.

I will never forget being told by these pin headed professors that a rising tide lifts all boats, so free trade would increase the standard of living for all.  Well we find out 50 years after we started this grand experiment that we created a state of equilibrium.  The countries we were forced to compete against were able to raise their wages, ours fell provided the jobs stayed here in the first place.

A very large part of the decline of the American steel industry also had to do with companies refusing to modernize and implement improving technologies. Complacent management figured that they could always sell everything they produced, because they always had.

Wrong.

Much of Europe and Japan were literally bombed flat during WW II, and when they rebuilt their industries (using a lot of American money to do it), they built their new mills using far more efficient processes, which further helped them undercut the cost of American-made steel.

The emergence of the "mini'mill" technology that relied on melting down scrap steel (melting steel that was ALREADY steel) rather than needing gigantic blast furnaces that reduced raw iron ore to molten pig-iron that had to be further converted to steel for their feedstocks, drove another nail in the coffin...all while the execs of the old-line companies paid themselves fabulous salaries and played golf.

Edited November 8, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[olsbooks]

Thank you for posting these type links.   Very enjoyable. 

 A rant that has no place here....Arrogance, willful ignorance, and apathy will destroy anyone or anything with no remorse. I had the pleasure of working for a once great powerhouse company hell bent on self destruction.  90% of market, employed many thousands and built good stuff.  Then it started. They chose to blame others for the decline and woes.  While a factor, the unwillingness to honestly look in the mirror and literally mind their own business, I say, was the real reason for the death spiral.  Leave the chest pounding to the gorillas and excuse making to comedians. In the wrong hands, it gets real ugly, real fast.  Arrogance and quiet confidence don't play together well.

Peace

 

Edited November 9, 2018 by olsbooks

[Ace-Garageguy]

22 hours ago, MrObsessive said:

My Dad worked at Bethlehem Steel here in Steelton from 1967 to 1998. He was never in the factory..........his job was mostly administrative in various offices during that time. I can remember Dad complaining in later years about how things were changing and as he saw it not for the better... 

Interesting that your father was there, Bill. Obviously, Bethlehem and companies like it were the real backbone of the American economy. To me, it's just so sad that America didn't value it's heavy industrial base, and gladly let it slip away rather than staying competitive by dealing with labor and environmental issues head on, and by implementing new processes earlier. The "information" and "service" based economy so loudly touted by "experts" just doesn't have the muscle to sustain the robust middle class that was America's strength. The six-year payment cycles you mention, now common when buying a new car, are indicative of the majority of buyers not really having as much buying power in adjusted dollars as they once did.

[Dave Van]

Mom grew up in Pittsburgh PA and we had family work in steel. I never got to see it.....but they talk about Pittsburgh glowing at night from the mills. 

It ain't what it was in the 1950's but we are making ground. 

[bismarck]

My father and grandfather both worked and retired from Weirton Steel. They are now demolishing it for scrap. . We ( my brothers and I), took it for granted that we would graduate high school and go into the mill for work. WRONG. After 39 years dad retired and told all us boys that we had better find a different way to make a living cuz Steel was circling the drain. That was in 1983.

Edited November 10, 2018 by bismarck

[Rob Hall]

I remember seeing the steel mills in the Stuebenville, Ohio and Weirton area when I was a kid living in Steubenville in the 70s.   There is an active steel mill in Cleveland close to me that I drive by often.