Bethlehem Steel Argumentative Essay

Growing up on Long Island, one of the most exciting things to do was to go to New York City. To see the New York City skyline was amazing and still is today. When you look at these crazy monstrous buildings you can learn to appreciate them but how much do we appreciate all the hard work that went into creating those buildings? Without a company like the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, who knows what New York and its skyline would look like. Many decisions and factors contributed to Bethlehem Steels demise including the labor movement and class compromise, class struggle and most of all the improper funding for employee benefits. Located along the Lehigh River in a town called Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is a steel plant that used to be the worlds

Although Bethlehem Steel prospered for what seemed like a lifetime, it slowly began to fall from grace. In 2001, after almost 100 years of being one of the best companies to work for, executives at Bethlehem Steel were forced to file for bankruptcy. (Kennedy) In 2003, the community of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, lost it’s heart and soul when Bethlehem Steel closed its doors for good. Today, the United States job market, has labor unions to protect the rights and interests of a companies employees. Unions are specifically assembled to help workers get appropriate wages and hours as well as proper working conditions. Many people today will choose to pursue a career that offers this type of advantage because it allows an employee to feel safe. For the workers of Bethlehem Steel, having a labor union, for employees, seemed crucial with their long hours. The executives, on the other hand, were extremely resistant. In 1907, the stock market plummeted and with that came a decrease in the demand for steel (Pizzola). According to Peter M. Pizzola, “In order to survive this crisis, Bethlehem Steel Chairman Charles Schwab cut

Charles Schwab worked together with Eugene G. Grace, professional manager for Bethlehem Steel, to build one of the most profitable companies of all time. In his book, John Strohmeyer describes meeting a member of the Bethlehem Steel Legal Staff named Donald Swan. Swan recalls a memory of the mood at the plant, “Bethlehem at that time had the reputation that its hallways were lined with gold, and when you became employed there they gave you a pick to mine [it].” The employees, at Bethlehem Steel, were well-compensated and knowing this, everyone wanted to be a part of it. Especially for the executives. Many believed that the Grace built the company around nepotism. Susan Loomis agrees when she writes, “ Bethlehem made the point that in recruiting college graduates it wanted not only brains but also all-around excellence, including “a good physique”.” In order to be a part of the elite, you had to be smart and attractive. Executives were sorted and separated by management levels, forced to do everything together whether at work or not. This all came though with fantastic perks. They had golf courses, country clubs, swimming pools, tennis courts as well as a fleet of company planes. In her article, The Sinking of Bethlehem Steel, Susan Loomis explains, “Schwab had believed heartily in incentive compensation, and Bethlehem’s executives proceeded to become famous for raking it in. Grace was for a while the