AND THE WOLF FINALLY CAME: The Decline of the American Steel Industry

by John P. Hoerr ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 15, 1988

A lengthy but consistently absorbing analysis of the us-against-them labor relations that have contributed significantly to the deterioration of the domestic steel industry. Hoerr, a Business Week editor who grew up in McKeesport, Pa., during the 1940's when the Monongahela Valley's mills were still operating at full blast, provides a vivid picture of the industry's collapse during the 1980's. While conceding that transnational economic forces, rival materials, and technological developments have played key roles in steel's eclipse, he argues persuasively that needlessly adversarial relations between management and labor made it all but impossible for the beleaguered industry to adapt to change. His account's provocative title is taken from a remark by a USW official to the effect that union men never trusted the steel companies because they were always crying wolf. When hard times did come, Hoerr makes clear, the consequences in terms of shuttered plants, lost jobs, uprooted families, and forsaken communities were dire indeed. His contemporary audit, which includes valuable perspectives on the industry's origins and union politics, extends roughly from 1982's bargaining failures through last year's convulsive work stoppage at USX Corp. (formerly U.S. Steel). Having shown how steel affords a worst-case example of the unacceptably high socioeconomic cost of rigid management policies that deny workers any organizational voice (save through grievance or contract committees whose inclination has been to stymie innovations which could enhance productivity), the author explores the possibility of mutually advantageous cooperation. Among other practicable reforms, he favors more extensive participation by workers at all levels of surviving operations. Superb, immensely readable reportage that goes a long way toward explaining why corporate America is losing its competitive edge. The engrossing 736-page text includes 30 photographs (not seen).

Pub Date: Aug. 15, 1988

ISBN: 0822953986

Page Count: -

Publisher: Univ. of Pittsburgh Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1988

Categories: NONFICTION