Beyond Big Steel: Are All of the Smokestacks Really Gone?

Amos the Poke Cat offers a quick but interesting comment a few posts down, pointing me here, which pointed me here--to a post with connections to the pro-Pittsburgh "Pop City Media" folks mentioned in the initial post about local boosterism.

That is, the last link is an article about how great Pittsburgh is, written by one of the Pop City people and published in that journal's "sister publication" in Detroit. It's pretty standard stuff about the Renaissance and what a lovely skyline we have and how we have enacted the greatest "transformation" in urban history. My favorite part is this bit taking a stab at the region's blue-collar roots:

Pittsburgh is thriving today as a clean and scenic place with rolling hills, our trademark three rivers, and not a smokestack in sight.

Ah, those pesky smokestacks. The ones that dirtied the air so completely. Nevermind that they fed approximately twice as many people as the city's new industries do, but let's move on. Not a smokestack in sight?

Uh, ever hear of the Mon Valley Works? Sure, Big Steel left us for dead. But the Edgar Thomson Plant and Irvin still employ quite a few people. Maybe Braddock isn't "in sight" for a few local boosters firmly ensconsed in their stylish downtown enclaves, but I can see ET from my front porch. Smell it, too.

So for those of you who can't see the smokestacks, have a look here. And here. And here. And here. And a whole bunch here.

Look, I know the current crop of boosters wants to position Pittsburgh as something different, to change its image. But it simply isn't true that there's "not a smokestack in sight." And you might want to take a look at what those jobs at the ET plant pay. And how many people are pulling that kind of living. No, it's not tens of thousands. But it's a few hundred. Let's not consign them to the dust bin of history just yet. OK?

And by the way, maybe a few more people ought to go out of their way to actually see such a place. Even if it isn't "in sight" from where they live. It's not hard. It's just down the road from the Warterfront. Follow the smoke.

Just seems people ought to have a look at what they are dismissing.

(I suppose that one might argue that Braddock is Braddock, and not Pittsburgh. But that seems like splitting hairs. A lot of the biggest mills were in adjacent boroughs. And we still called Pittsbugh "Steel City.")

Comments

[Jonathan Barnes]

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Amos the Poker Cat]

Don't forget the USS Clairton Works too! Strange, that is part of the Mon Valley Works.

[Amos the Poker Cat]

According to BLS' Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2004: Table 1. National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation, May 2004:

I find two categories under Production occupations that would match work in a steelmill: Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders (17,150 national), and Pourers and casters, metal (13,670 national). The generic "steelworker" is a structural construction job. There are probably others, but this should be a good start. Alot of the others mix metal, and plastic.

Detailed stats for furnace operators.
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes514051.htm
PA has 1,840.

Detailed stats for Pourers and Casters, Metal
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes514052.htm
PA has 1,430.

Detailed stats for PIT MSA
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_6280.htm#b51-0000
PIT MSA has 660 Furnace Operators, and 530 Pourers and Casters, Metal
Production Occupations employment of 70,160 (10,128,200 national).
Total PIT MSA Computer and Mathematical Occupations 21,490 (2,915,300 national)

[Amos the Poker Cat]

Actually, I ment to type "strange that it is NOT part of Mon Works"

[Jonathan Barnes]

The Clairton Works is a coke plant. It once was a fully integrated steel mill, but that was decades ago. It no longer produces steel, and has not since the Seventies, I think. (Forgive me if you know all of this.)
USS almost sold the Clairton Works about two years ago, but the deal fell through. I thought the Clairton Works was part of the Mon Valley Works, since it feeds coke to Edgar Thompson Works. The plant site is more than 100 years old and was originally Clairton Steel, if I recall correctly, and was one of the companies acquired by Carnegie to forge U.S. Steel.

[Sam M]

Clairton appears to be its own whole "works." At least it's called the "Clairton Works." Details at
http://www.ussteel.com/corp/facilities/clairton.htm

Now, Clairton is 20 miles from Pittsburgh. So I guess that might make it true that its smokestacks are not, in fact, visible from Pittsburgh. But smokestacks from the Mon Works are. That's why I didn't put Clairton in my initial post.

Want to know the truth? I thought Clairton was part of the Mon Works, too, until I checked the USS site. Does seem strange, though.

[Amos the Poker Cat]

In Oct, 2005 the NYT did Reinventing the Mill

Under relentless pressure, the industry transformed itself. In 1980 steel companies employed about 400,000 American workers and it took about nine hours of labor to produce a ton of steel; by last year, the work force had withered to some 120,000 workers but it took each of them only about two hours to make a ton of steel.

Wow, from 9 hours down to 2 hours in 25 years, that is a what, a 78% productivity increase, or about 6.2% per year. Which is pretty amazing for non-Morse's Law industry.

[Fred Mullner]

I suppose no one is reading this thread anymore, but allow me to put in my two cents. Clairton never made steel. It was always a coke plant. The Mon Valley Works is the combination of the Edgar Thompson Works (where they make steel), the Irvin Works where they finish the steel, and the Clairton Works where they make coke. ET, Irvin, and Clairton might now be called "plants" rather than "works" because "works" connotes a fully self-contained operation (i.e., you can start with iron ore and end up with finished steel without ever leaving the site).

My two cents from a former steel employee and a permanent steel junkie. I work in the chemical industry now and it's just not the same.

[r delpercio]

I WORK AT CLAIRTON AND IT ONCE WAS A STEEL MAKER BUT THE DECLINE OF THE STEEL INDUSTRY LED TO IT CEASING STEEL PRODUCTION THE PLANT ONCE EMPLOYED OVER 7500 BUT AFTER THE DECLINE IT NOW IS AROUND 1500 MOST OF THE "SMOKE" IS STEAM COMING FROM THE FRESH WATER QUENCHING OF THE COKE I HELP TO MAKE WE ARE THE CLEANEST COKE WORKS IN AMERICA IN MOST TOUGHEST COUNTY TO REMAIN COMPLIANT LET US GET OUR FACTS TOGETHER

[Sal Fadatucci]

More Pittsburgh/Mon Valley smoke at http://www.coalcampusa.com/rustbelt/pa/pa.htm .

[TONY IANNAZZO]

I worked on the coke ovens in clairton and spent the first 26 years of my life there. The average American does not have any idea of processing of coal and coke byproducts that takes place in clairton mill. We also were a leading producer of steel at the same plant while still being powered by steam until the late 1970s. God Bless our Smokestacks !! We did great until Regan expanded his acting career and hurt our UNION .

[TONY IANNAZZO]

Clairton also had Blast furnaces, made and poured steel etc. From start to finish it was a steel mill we rolled I beams, elevator bar, angle, etc etc check your history. Century 3 mall is built on the old slag dump from our steel mill waste.

[Resume Writing Service]

Actually, I ment to type "strange that it is NOT part of Mon Works"

[last chaos gold]

steel at the same plant while still being powered by steam until the late 1970s. God Bless our Smokestacks !! We did great until Regan expanded his acting career and hurt our UNION .