2009 Pittsburgh Convention Stories: Manufacturing

The once mighty Pittsburgh steel towns in the Mon Valley are way past their glory days. But the traditional strength and determination of the hard working inhabitants shines through while a spark of hope is trying to ignite a bright future.

EBENSBURG, Pa. -- As the G-20 Summit prepares to open in Pittsburgh Sept. 24 to deal with global capitalism's severe economic crisis, labor journalists from the International Labor Communicators Association visited some 15 area work sites to investigate the economic conditions for working people here in western Pennsylvania.

In Pittsburgh, the Steel Workers’ DeWitt Walton isn’t shy about pushing individuals, people in power and even fellow trade unionists outside their comfort zone.

When Pittsburgh's GM stamping plant closed its doors earlier this year UAW Local 544 workers came to the end of a long and traumatic road. A "triple whammy" of the Great Recession, corporate "free trade" policies and high gas prices devastated the lives of hundreds or hard-working people who had given decades of dedicated service to a great American industry. Listen to their voices and you can hear the Death of The American Dream - but listen closely enough and you can also hear a fierce determination to fight hard for its revival.

Green Jobs in Rural Places (Video)

VIDEO: Amid the rolling hills, rural farms and church steeples of Western Pennsylvania, it may not appear they are on the cutting edge of technology, but growing from this spot is a new model for union green jobs and sustainable energy made possible by the United Steelworkers (USW), Gamesa and legislative action.

The old U.S. Steel Homestead plant complex, site of the famous 1892 confrontation between workers and Pinkertons, is no more. What will replace it -- and with how many jobs? There may be an answer near Homestead, too. Those same questions are being asked nationwide.

Closed plant, shut down lives

"Everything I had counted on went away" When Jeff Hall came to work at the General Motors Pittsburgh plant on Feb. 27, he faced a series of tasks that would have once been unimaginable.

GM plant closure rips community

By Doug Cunningham, WIN radio When Pittsburgh’s GM stamping plant closed UAW Local 544 workers felt its gut-wrenching devastation – the result, they believe, of U.S. global trade policies coming home to roost. It’s a story that’s been sadly playing out for a couple of decades now nationwide, not only in the auto industry but for the whole American manufacturing sector. Local 544 Financial Secretary Jeff Hall was one of the last few to leave the plant in an emotional goodbye.

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2009 Pittsburgh Convention Stories: Manufacturing