Steel to Rust: The Disintegration of Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio's Iron and Steel Industry in the Twentieth Century

Steel to Rust portrays labor's struggle for unionism during the first four decades of the 20th century. Management stalwarts such as Judge Elbert Gary and Tom Girdler faced off against union leaders Samuel Gompers, John L. Lewis, and Philip Murray in violent strikes. The juxtaposition of immigrant against American-born, black versus white, and rich versus poor erupted into a volcano of death and destruction claiming scores of victims in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio. Sadly, once the workers gained their collective bargaining rights, the once vibrant United States steel industry withered and rusted.