Back in 1872, on a trip through Europe and visit home to Scotland, Andrew Carnegie found out about the Bessemer process – the first inexpensive way to mass-produce steel. Never one to miss an opportunity, he had the ideal site in mind to set-up a plant in Pennsylvania. And on 1 January 1873, work began on a plant in Braddock, near Pittsburgh.
Within three years, the mill was up and running. And from here, they helped build America. Steel from the Edgar Thompson steel works was used in skyscrapers and bridges and railroads. As the country burst westwards, demand was huge. At its peak, the plant employed thousands. The town of Braddock saw its population swell to around 23,000. It had everything a small boom town should expect – cinemas, bars, hotels and stores selling the latest of everything. Now almost a century later, the population is a tenth of that. The vacant lots and boarded-up houses are a blighted reminder of the missing. The plant now employs barely 600 workers.
Modernisation is partly to blame. Jim Johnston the local steel union president, explains: ‘The new processes simply don’t need as many people. We can produce more with less’. And then there’s globalisation. Cheap steel from China and Korea has flooded the market. American workers who receive around $25 an hour (about £20) can’t compete with the low labour costs abroad.
With new trade deals in the works, there’s a worry hanging over the plant: ‘We’re not against trade,’ says Johnston: ‘We just want it to be fair trade. Others are supported by subsidies’. He’s about to leave for Washington to lobby his congressman to vote against the trans-Pacific partnership – a new deal he fears will mean more lay-offs. For every job that’s lost at the steel works, five more will disappear in the wider community. ‘Shop workers, gas station attendants, truck drivers all gone’, says Johnston.
Most economists will tell you that global trade deals create more winners than losers. There’s increased competition, the opening up of new markets and the cost of goods are driven down. But walking through Braddock, a cheap t-shirt and an inexpensive phone seems a high price to pay. Many of the stores are shuttered. They haven’t seen a lick of paint never mind a customer in years. Even the charity shops are struggling.
Tony Buba is 75 and has lived in Braddock most of his life. He remembers a vibrant community, but wonders if the steel jobs were a blip. ‘Before steel, the town had a population of around 2,500. It surged when the mill was going full on. Everyone thought the population would even out around 10,000 but it’s gone down and down. Maybe this is the size we’re meant to be’.
Buba is a documentary film-maker, so he watches the news. He’s heard that the presidential candidates on both sides are promising to bring manufacturing back to places like Pennsylvania. His assessment of the claims is blunt: ‘It’s BS. It’s not ordinary consumers who are buying rolls of steel. It’s other companies. And if they can get it cheaper elsewhere, they will’. He doesn’t think there’ll be any return to the glory days: ‘They’ve gone’.
In an old converted garage on the edge of town, David Rosenstraus runs a business converting vehicles to run on recycled vegetable oil. He also runs a small car repair shop, a recording studio and a van-hire business. He employs a few people. He makes a few dollars. And Braddock is looking for more people like him: ‘There’s not going to be another big employer like a steel mill. That kind of manufacturing, especially in the US, has disappeared. The town is looking for tech-entrepreneurs and small smart businesses to fuel the economy and that might attract some people. If you attract some people you attract other business and suddenly the downward spiral is an upward spiral’.
Tucked away behind a bush and fence there is a memorial to the workers who have died in the Braddock plant since Andrew Carnegie came up with the idea that made him a multi-billionaire. It is a simple piece of stone. The people here fear that the plant itself will one day become a monument to a town that died. It may be a difficult battle but it’s one that they believe is not yet lost.
By Alan Fisher | 27 April 2016