Steel Shavings Volume 30,2000 James B. Lane and Mike Olszanski, Co-Editors

1. STEELWORKERS FIGHT BACK
Inland's Local Union 1010 and the
Sadlowski/Balanoff Campaigns
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A Ed Sadlowski Jim Balanoff
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I Rank and File Insurgency
N in the Calumet Region
during the 1970s
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James B. Lane and Mike Olszanski, co-editors
Indiana University Northwest, Volume 30, 2000

2. Steel City, Stone City 40 years later. In 1981 , I had devoted a Steel
by Robert Buzecky Shavings issue to Work Experiences(volume
7) which included articles about numerous
Buzecky, Miletich, Debryn, Rodriguez, Kowalak, insurgent steelworkers, including Cliff "Cowboy''
thousands of Somebodies Mezo, a charismatic union officer at Inland Steel.
from all over the planet. Names In 1990, inspired by Richard M. Dorson's book
make them different, blue shirts and steel Land of the Millrats: Urban Folklore in
make them family. Indiana's Calumet Region, I edited an issue
entitled Steelworker Tales(volume 19), which
Steel threads suspend contained lengthy interviews with a number of
giant sea hooks from overhead cranes. rank-and-file activists. During the early 1990s I
Steel coils sharp as razors reach out began researching the District 31 Womep's
to slice the unwary. Caucus, whose leaders supported progressives
Rumbling railroad cars and dump trucks Ed Sadlowski and Jim Balanoff in their campaigns
carelessness and exhaustion for district director. Then I turned my attention to
strike others down. the crucial role steelworker unionists played in
the Bailly Alliance, a grassroots antinuclear
The burial grounds not far from the mills coalition. One of its leaders was Mike Olszanski,
now hold the steel men. who was chairman of Local1 01 O's Environmental
Their dates are carved in stone. Committee and later its president. In the mid-
Between the dates is blank space - 1990s Mike (or "Oz," his nickname at Inland, as
their lives I've come to call him), was a brilliant student in
two of my American History courses. When he
where they labored told me he was looking to use his talents as a
at handwork, double shifts, sweated through historian upon his retirement from the mill, our
their blue shirts, inhaled coal-dust air, smelled collaboration on this project commenced.
the stench of burning coal,
and endured monster machines We decided to examine 1970s steelworker
that hammered pounded rendered hauled iron insurgency from the bottom up, starting with
and steel. individual activists and then at the local, district
That is not chiseled in the stones. and nationallevel(lnternationallevel really, since
the USWA included Canada). It was a natural
Editor's Note choice to concentrate on Inland's local union
'
1010, nicknamed the "Red" Local, which had a
By James B. Lane
long history of rank and-file activism. Oz and I
shared the interviewing duties, my concentration
In 1986 my wife Toni and I went to an Oral
being some of his old political rivals while his
History Association conference held aboard the
most memorable interviews were with Eddie
Queen Mary, a luxury liner permanently docked
Sadlowski and Clem Balanoff. Poor health has
in Long Beach, California. One session featured
slowed down Jim Balanoff, but we recorded his
a tour of the Los Angeles-area waterfront
succinct reactions to certain queries during a
conducted by veteran longshoremen, whose
visit to his home on Elm Street in East Chicago,
rich vein of anecdotes evoked organized labor's
where his wife Betty added her insights and
militant depression-era beginnings. Inspired by
contributed a rich vein of anecdotes. We have
their passion, I vowed some day to put together
supplemented the highlights of our three dozen
an oral history of Calumet Region steelworkers
or so interviews with findings by labor historians
which would carry their story forward from the
as well as primary materials gleaned from minute
union's "heroic" 1930s origins and focus on the
books, convention proceedings, newsletters,
lesser-known activities of rank-and-file activists
Continued on inside back cover

3. 1
john Sargent: A young fella who hasn't got a broader Johnson, literally digging the hole for the basement with
perspective than just the union, sees the union as a step- a shovel. One of my earliest memories is of him throw-
ping stone to security for himself, either to get a job in the ing the dirt out of the hole and me throwing it back in. He
union or to use the union to get a job with the company, put a roof on the basement, and we moved in. The
as a foreman for instance. Unless the guy has a socialist place was right next to the South Shore tracks in a
viewpoint, or some kind of broader viewpoint, you're not Polish neighborhood.
gonna get good leadership. The other side of the coin is
that some become purists, and like any religion, you can't The plan was we'd save our money and go upstairs,
dissent any more. I was fortunate to be caught up in a but every time he saved some money, something hap-
great movement, and that doesn't happen very often in pened, like my older sister got polio. I grew up in a
one's lifetime. Workers were gonna have a union, come basement with a flat roof on the top and tar paper. It was
hell or high water. Nothing was gonna stop them. actually pretty deep and came out of the ground a little
History's important, but if anybody tells you you gotta bit. It was small, but we were happy there. One time
believe a guy like me because he's been through this stuff, somebody tried to sell my dad a deal on building the
don't listen to him. It's not 1936 now. Use your own ini- upstairs. He signed papers but backed out at the last
tiative. The old guys did what they had to do. minute when advised it was a bad deal.
Introduction: Hiring In at Inland As a kid, I felt a little different. We were never hungry,
but we were poor. My dad spoke with an accent. Most
Mike 0/szanski: My dad grew up dirt poor in a small of my friends' parents were second-generation. In ret-
town in Poland and worked for the church as a grave rospect, I gained a lot from my father being first-genera-
digger. He left home because there was nothing to eat. tion but at the time wanted to be "Joe Average." I start-
He went to Germany, became a carpenter's apprentice, ed off in kindergarten with the nuns at St. Casmir's. I
saw World War I about to start, and got the hell out of was beaten often but never into submission. Perhaps
there. He was lucky enough to get on a boat in steerage that inspired my first radical ideas.
and come to America.
My dad worked in a small shop called Standard
He arrived at Ellis Island around 1917 and got arrest- Railway, which made railroad cars. It was on Columbia
ed his second day in the country. Having no money, he Avenue, walking distance because dad didn't drive.
started hanging out with hobos, who said, "You can eat During World War II, when my dad hired in, they made
with us, but tomorrow you have to bring something." He gun shields for planes and tanks. My dad never got
stole a quart of milk off a door step and got caught. He much above laborer. Overtime money was put in the
went before a German-born judge. Because he was bank as security against strikes and layoffs. There was
able to speak German, he got off. Later on, while I was a lot of them in the 1950s so he never quite got ahead.
learning, "Thou shalt not steal," my dad told me, "When He was always getting ready for a strike.
you or your family is hungry, it is not a sin to steal."
I was inquisitive and got into everything. I wanted to
From New York my dad went to Chicago, where his know how things worked. I built an amplifier for a high fi
older brother was. How he got to Hammond, I'm not system. It didn't work the first time, but I kept at it. Once
sure, probably looking for work. He did have some dis- I damn near burned down the house. My dad was tol-
tant cousins in the Region. He did all kinds of jobs: erant; he'd say, "Let the kid alone." He was proud of all
baker's apprentice at Wonder Bread, tailor's apprentice. my experiments. When I wired up a light and got it to
He married a woman who got TB, out of poverty basi- work at the age of 12, after blowing a bunch of fuses, he
cally. The cure was bed rest, but she couldn't get that or told his friends how ingenious I was. He only went
proper medical care and died very young. With no job through sixth grade but had figured out a lot of things.
or income, he put his baby girl with relatives and joined
the CCC. He married my mother a couple years before We got our first TV when I was about ten and became
I was born. She was about 20 years younger, probably glued to it. Before that, it was the radio. My dad used
in her late 20s. to watch the news on TV and curse out the "God damn
capitalists." He was an FOR Democrat but with an anti-
I was born in 1945 in East Chicago, at St. Catherine's. capitalist twist. I never knew exactly where that came
My family lived at 813 Hoffman Street in north Hammond from because he was scared of the communists. It was,
-natives say 'Nord Hammond -in an ethnic neighbor- "Fuckin' Republicans" and "God damn capitalists." Once
hood similar to Chicago's Southeast side. By the time I I asked, "How do you decide who to vote for?" He said,
was three, my dad was building a place at 4539 "I vote for the Democrats." When I asked him about the

4. 2
primaries, he said, " I always vote for someone with a But they had shops, and they had just put in a college
Polish name." He was very much into the Polish prep program. Since I didn't know what I wanted to do,
National Alliance. He hated fascism but not communism I figured I'd cover all the bases, learn electronics and
like those who left after the war. I always knew I was a also get myself ready to go to college. At first I made
member of the working class. Most people are raised to pretty good grades; but after I became a party animal,
think this is a classless society, which is bullshit. When my grades went to hell. I almost didn't make it.
you're working class, you're on one side of that great
divide. I wanted to play sports in order to be one of the guys.
I was skinny and never very athletic but stuck with foot-
My father talked a lot to me, like I was his confidant. ball for four years and got my letter. I hardly played but
knew his whole life story before I was 12. Half the time, was determined not to be a quitter. Being on the team,
I didn't know what he was taking about, but I later fig- I got to hang out with the jocks. We went to Kelly's and
ured it out and really valued it. He told me that soon Serenades, two adjacent drive-ins on Indianapolis
after he came to America, he married a woman who Boulevard which attracted dragsters from all over the
turned out to be a hooker. When he found that out, he Region. I never had a fast car but hung out with guys
got a quick divorce. "She was no fuckin' good," he'd who did. We'd go to Kelly's with our quart of beer and
say. He could not get an annulment since he didn't have maybe get one order of fries for the six kids in the car so
his baptismal papers from Poland. Up until the year he they wouldn't kick us out. Many school nights, we'd sit
died, the Catholic Church would not let him get married there chug-a-lugging beer. We could always find some-
in the church nor receive the sacraments. These old body to buy it for us. Of course, when my dad wasn't
Polish priests wouldn't bend the rules. For a long time looking, I'd take some of his.
he held a grudge. When he was literally on his death
bed, a young priest cut the red tape somehow and my Dick Biondi on WLS was the closest thing we had to
parents got married. Wolfman Jack. He'd tell you where the dances were and
be live at Madura's Danceland, across from Lever
To me the Polish stuff seemed old-fashioned. They Brothers. Sunday nights we'd go to Midway Ballroom in
tried to teach us Polish in grade school as a second lan- Cedar Lake. One time I saw Jerry Lee Lewis there.
guage. My dad was thrilled, but not I. Most of the nuns They had good deejays. The cops would take you away
spoke Polish and made us learn our prayers, the "Our if you got too wild. Effie and Steve were the best
Father" and "Hail Mary," in Polish. My dad would take dancers in the Region. At some point they'd do "the
me to the Polish National Alliance Christmas party, bitch," a dirty dance. Everybody would clear the floor.
stand me on a table, and make me say my prayers in Half-way through the song troopers would kick them out;
Polish. It was embarrassing, but I couldn't break his they'd be back the next week.
heart.
There were four or five guys I ran with in a fairly tight
My dad was joyous, very happy-go-lucky. He always circle. We had pretty wild adventures. Sometimes I
managed to have a good time. He'd do all the polkas wonder how we survived. If we weren't going to a
with other Polish ladies while my mother sat and dance, we might cruise 119th Street in Whiting, whistling
watched. He'd go around and around the floor until I at good-looking high school girls and trying to pick them
thought he'd drop. My mother worked at St. Catherine's up. It was like a ritual, all summer long. They'd be in
as a nurse's aid and in the kitchen. My father was old- shorts, and we'd try to get them in our 1953 Cadillac.
fashioned and didn't want her to work, but we needed Once we actually got two of them in the car. We chased
the money. My younger sister stayed with mom until a lot of girls but almost never caught them.
she died, never marrying, and still won't move away
from the old place. I had a lot of dates but was a teenager right before the
sexual revolution and drugs got to be widespread. Only
In eighth grade, the nuns wanted us all to go to Bishop one or two kids in our school did reefer, and we thought
Noll and be priests. "Let me out of here," was my atti- that was scary. One kid we called "Beatnik" because he
tude. I had come to an awakening that I was not a wore sunglasses, even at night. He'd come into Kelly's
devout Catholic. My parents, had they the money, with this beautiful 1957 Ford. One night he had cut the
would have loved for me to go to Bishop Noll. They had top out of his car with a torch. It was really jagged all
actually managed to send my older sister, but it was get- around the top edges. He was stoned. Then it rained
ting expensive and he was about to retire. I told them I and he had to stay under Kelly's awning.
wanted to go to Hammond Tech, which at the time had
a poor reputation of servicing kids without any potential. After graduation in 1963, most all my friends went into

5. 3
the mill. We had been on that track. Steelworkers could Mike 0/szanski
make big bucks with no experience. I planned to work a
couple years, make a bunch of money, buy a car and
start college. I had no intention of spending my life
there. I wanted to go to college; my mother liked that
idea but my dad thought college was for rich kids and
that learning a craft was more practical. When I was an
electrician at Inland, he bragged on me.
My father told me to work in a union shop: otherwise,
''they'll work you to death and can fire you at any time."
Of course, I had to test that for myself, and sure enough
he was right. I worked in a nonunion shop for about a
month, and the boss's son wanted my job so I was let
go. There was no security. "I told you about that," my
dad said. He always went to union meetings. It was
like a regular duty. He never got involved in union poli-
tics to my knowledge but instilled in me the idea that you
went to union meetings. He always talked union. Labor
history filtered in to me by osmosis from my dad. He I went to college at night, but the shift work started
died at age 72, of smoking too much basically and from interfering, so I tried to get a job which allowed me to go
living a hard life. to school. I ended up working shift work for 30 years.
Meantime, Barb and I got married, right after my 20th
My first job after high school was at Shopper's World birthday. We were young and foolish and in love and
for minimum wage, a dollar an hour. When I graduated started having babies. She was 16 and had to quit
in the spring, Inland wasn't hiring, but by September school. I was still living at home. When I first mentioned
they were losing college kids. I went to their employ- her to my dad, he had asked, "Is she Polish?" I said, "No,
ment office, and it was like the military. They treated you dad, she's German." Then he said, "Well, is she
like dirt. It was, "We're not hiring today; come back next Catholic?" Pulling his leg, I said, "She's Jewish."
week." They wouldn't even give me a form. The follow- Actually, Barb's parents were Protestants. He swal-
ing week they said, "Well, we ain't hiring now either. lowed hard, rubbed his head, and said, "Well, do you
Here, fill this out and we'll contact you." In other words, love her?" That's the kind of guy he was.
"Don't call us, we'll call you." Somebody told me I had
to go back every day to show them I really wanted a job. In the fall of 1965 a letter commanded me to take a
That's what I did. Plus I put down that I knew Mr. preinduction physical. I went up to Chicago with a
Richards next door, who was a foreman. After two or bunch of guys from Hammond. After we got off the bus,
three times, the guy said, "Oh, all right." a sergeant lined us up and ordered us to be silent. I'm
thinking, "This isn't boot camp. I'm not in yet." A guy next
I was green as grass. I knew nothing. I finally got an to me was laughing until the sergeant got into his face
interview with a guy who wasn't so gruff. He asked me and said, "Son, I can have you in Vietnam in six week."
where I wanted to work. I said, "To be honest, I don't Suddenly it dawned on us that he probably could. Barb
know one department from the other." He smiled at me and I had kids before they started taking married guys,
and said, "I'll tell you what. I'm going to put you in the but at any time they could put me in a foreign country
blast furnace. I guarantee, in six months you'll be sign- and tell me to shoot at somebody I don't even know. I
ing up for college." The first day at the blast furnace they learned Democrats could screw you as bad as
handed me metatarsals, a hard hat, safety glasses, Republicans. Maybe worse. Johnson did a lot for
gloves, a broom, and said, "Sweep." It was all dirt. minorities and the working class, but I hated him
"What are we sweeping?" "Never mind, just sweep." because of Vietnam.
Around 11 o'clock a guy said, "Have lunch, then go
sweep some more." Next day they put me near these In 1966 I had been out of the mill for a year. I had
huge cylindrical stoves. I started sweeping and came flown the coop. Now I was coming back with my tail
upon a big sign which said: DANGER! CARBON between my legs. Rob was a year old and Barb preg-
MONOXIDE. COLORLESS. ODORLESS. DEADLY. I nant, so I was facing two kids to support. I was a little
thought, "Oh, this is nice. I'm not gonna see it. I'm not depressed but made the best of it. Inland had just start-
gonna smell it. It's gonna get me." ed up an apprenticeship program at night so I couldn't

6. 4
continue with college like I wanted. Inland had a con- change. You never knew if you were coming or going,
tract program with Purdue Calumet, and they taught especially on midnights. It helped break up my mar-
electrical engineering technology courses that weren't riage. The final nail was the union. Between being a
much different from regular college courses. grouch on midnights and being active in the union, it was
too much. Somehow we made it last 15 years and got
It took three years to become a standard electrician. It the kids almost raised. At one point I was a real chau-
was a working apprenticeship, answering calls and fix- vinist. It took exposure to social movements to realize
ing things. You had the shit jobs to begin with, natural- what an asshole I was and embrace the women's move-
ly, that required little skill. I was in Number Three Cold ment.
Strip, a rolling mill where we pickled coils of stripped
steel after they had been hot-rolled in the hot strip. We I was getting more political. I gradually decided that I
put them in a tank of acid to remove rust, then through had to do something. I had no idea what; I had no con-
big rollers which mashed the steel down and got the nections except for one friend who was a dissident in the
gauge down. From there the steel got put through a Democratic party. In 1968 he wanted me to run for
temper mill. Mills are run by big, sophisticated electric county commissioner. I said, "What are you, crazy?" He
motors. We had every type of electronic control imagi- said, "No, there's this guy named Olszewski and his
nable in Number Three Cold Strip. For a motor inspec- name's just two letters different from yours. And his first
tor the work was dirty, hot, and nasty. You'd strap on a name is Stanley and yours is S. Michael. You could
bunch of tools when a craneman would have a problem draw votes off this sonovabitch." Since he was with
and go trouble shooting. Sometimes problems would Democratic boss John Krupa, whom I hated, I agreed. I
almost reach out and bite you; other times they were didn't know what I was getting into. My name went on
harder to find. Once you found the problem, then you the ballot, and shit hit the fan. Krupa's people went to
might have to go down and get some parts. It was all my father and tried to intimidate him. Olszewski won in
bull work. spite of me. But that gave me a taste for politics. I ran
for state representative and for the Hammond city coun-
Our mill was divided into three areas; each had three cil but wasn't going anywhere as an independent
or four electricians per shift. A technician was the brains Democrat. So I started going to union meetings and fig-
of the outfit and an expert at delegating. He'd carry a ured how that worked.
flashlight and maybe a screwdriver and say, "Don't
make me pull out this screwdriver." Under him was an The union had not been on my mind when I first hired
operator, who'd carry a small pouch with little tools in it in. Hardly anybody went to meetings. It had dropped
but didn't do heavy work or go on cranes. Then there out of favor. I saw right away, however, that it could help
was a motor inspector and finally the vocational motor you out. One time I worked a Sunday and wasn't paid
inspector, who was below whale shit and carried the time and a half. Another guy and I went to our griever,
heavy duty tools. The most embarrassing thing was a black guy named Alexander Bailey. It was quite an
when an apprentice couldn't find the problem. The tech- experience. Bailey had fixed up a shanty in the pig mill
nician would call you stupid and tell you to try harder. like an office. He did his business behind a table that
They wanted you to learn the hard way, which was in looked like a desk. The guy weighed around 300
some respects good but dangerous. Gradually you got pounds and looked to be damn near seven feet tall. He
to be the older guy. towered over us as he squeezed the hell out of our
hands. We explained our problem, and he said, "That
After a couple of years, it became clear I was going to sonovabitch is always cheating people. Don't worry, I'll
be in the mill for a while. Every once in awhile I'd put out take care of it." Afterwards, the boss called us into the
a resume. A couple guys got hired at Illinois Bell, and I office and said, "So you went and saw Bailey, did you?"
thought, "Maybe that's my ticket out of here." I applied He pretended it was an oversight, but the next pay-
and had a bunch of tests. I did so well they said, "We check, it was taken care of.
don't even want you to be an installer. We want you to
give presentations." Unfortunately, they offered me In union meetings Bailey would stand in the back,
about half of what I was making at the mill. There was against the wall where he could view everybody. After
no way I could do it. The mill's golden handcuffs had others were pretty much wore out, he'd take one step
me. forward and in his booming voice say, "Bullshit!" His tim-
ing was perfect. Having everybody's attention, he'd give
I hated the shift work. We'd swing shift every week, his position. He became chairman of the grievance
the worst possible way, backwards. Sometimes they'd committee, then went on staff. We had a parting of the
switch you every four days. Your days off would ways, but he never failed to impress me.

7. -------~- -- - - - - -- - -- --
5
Part One: Roots of Insurgency tions, like the craft unions of the old AFL. At best they
are concerned with material benefits for their members,
not with the welfare of working people everywhere. At
Philip Roth (uom I Married a Communist, 1998): [From worst they have become a new kind of company union,
the South Shore train] I saw block after block of soot-cov- financially and politically independent of the rank and
ered bungalows, the steelworkers' houses, with gazebos file. Some union members say that they have two ene-
and birdbaths in the backyards, and beyond the houses mies, the company and the union leadership.
the streets lined with low, ignominious-looking stores
where their families shopped, and so strong was the After World War II the labor movement fell silent. But
impact on me of the sight of a steelworker's everyday working people are stirring again, beginning to question
world, its crudity, its austerity, the obdurate world of peo- foremen and corporate executives and union officials
ple who were always strapped, in debt, paying things off, who have lost touch with their members. The groups
it inspired the thought: For the hardest work the barest which took part in the cultural revolution of the 1960s are
minimum, for breaking their backs the humblest rewards. moving into the workplace. Blacks have become a
majority in many steel mills, veterans are returning from
Trade Union Democracy Vietnam, women have gone out to work in larger num-
bers than at any time since World War II. A new rest-
Curtis Strong: The democracy movement was a phase lessness is evident in wildcat strikes, in rank-and-file
of the 1970s. rejection of contracts, in demands for humanizing work
and a safe, hazard-free work situation.
AI Samter: Rank-and-File is a generic term adopted by
progressive opposition groups, a favorite name for cau- Origins of Inland Steel
cuses formed to protest the union leadership. In the
1970s many progressive unionists throughout the coun- Edward Zivich: The depression of 1893 destroyed the
try independently formed rank-and-file groups. Chicago Steel Co. Its chief creditor, Block-Pollack Iron
Co., bought it up and incorporated the new Inland Steel
Philip Nyden: While the ultimate cause of rank-and-file Co., which became a highly prosperous rolling mill. By
militancy was the reaction against company policies, 1897 corporate expansion seemed absolutely neces-
militancy often surfaced in opposition to autocratic or sary. Inland worked out an agreement with the Chicago-
corrupt union practices which dulled the ability of the based Lake Michigan Land Co., which held title to over
union to protect members' workplace rights. a thousand acres of marshy land destined to become
Indiana Harbor. The Blocks got 50 acres of prime lake-
Mary Hopper(1978): The way they run that front land and assurances of railroad ties with Chicago.
International union, it's a little private organization all Inland agreed to construct a $900,000 open-hearth plant
their own. We can't tell them anything. They are very on the Harbor site. The promoters would get an indus-
cocky about it. They say,. "We don't have to listen to the trial "boom town," Inland its expansion. The Blocks sold
membership; we're going tp run it our way." their interest in various East Chicago forge enterprises
to finance the building of the Harbor works, which in July
Seymour Martin Upset, Martin Trow and James 1902, poured its first ingots.
Coleman (Union Democracy, 1976): Democracy is
strengthened when members are not only related to the Ed Sadlowski: The Blocks were chiselers, despite the
larger organization but are also affiliated with or loyal to myth that they were paternalistic.
subgroups within the organization.
Edward Zivich: By the 1930s the works had expanded
Alice and Staughton Lynd (Rank and File, 1973): to include four blast furnaces and 31 open-hearths.
What do working people mean when they say "rank and Despite some outside influence, the Block family ran the
file." In a general way, it refers to workers on the job, not company personally and held a reputation for paternal-
paid union leadership. Rank-and-file activity usually ism. The corporation influenced East Chicago commu-
means people on the job taking whatever action they nity affairs and politics. Republicans favored by the
think is necessary, doing something for themselves company held power. Republican Andrew Rooney was
rather than waiting for someone else to do it for them. elected mayor in 1936, despite the Democratic landslide
Rank-and-file activity may be directed against an intol- that swept neighboring cities. Inland weathered the
erable employer or an unresponsive union bureaucracy. early years of the Great Depression and was operating
near capacity as the CIO drive approached, turning out
Too many unions have become bureaucratic corpora- 60,000 tons of steel per week.

8. - - --- - - - - -- - - - - -------
6
1010: The "Red" Local Two Left groups held the most influence - Pete
Caracci, Max Luna, Manuel Trbovich and other Socialist
Edward Zivich: Between 1936 and 1942 relations at Workers Party Trotskyites on the one hand, and John
the mill were conducted without a signed labor agree- Sargent, Nick Migas, Bill Maihoffer and fellow
ment. Local 1010 enjoyed a period of success Communists on the other. Migas' father had been a
unequaled in its subsequent history. Through a variety member of the IWW and Big Bill Haywood influenced his
of militant "on-the-job" actions, particularly as military views on class and race. Sargent had been a leader of
orders increased the need for uninterrupted production, the Young Communist League. A militant local union,
the union secured unprecedented improvements in largely defiant of bureaucratic district leadership, would
wages and working conditions. It obtained the loyalty of prove to be the Left's legacy at the Harbor. During 1936-
the overwhelming majority of Harbor steelworkers and 37 radical factions stood united and formed the nucleus
the active participation of the rank-and-file in the daily of the two or three hundred men in a work force of over
conduct of union affairs. 12,000. 1010 began to pick up thousands of new mem-
bers in the winter of 1936-1937. By spring the drive had
James Kol/ros: The fact that Inland had only one main recruited a majority of Inland's workmen.
steel plant gave the local union much more leverage Mass Meeting at Indiana Harbor
over "its" steel company than locals of other steel pro-
ducers. The local union was always inclined to negoti-
ate on its own and to disregard directions from SWOC's
top leaders.
Cliff Mezo: Many organizers were radicals who got the
job done.
Roberta Wood: Communists played a major role.
Edward Zivich: There had been a union at Inland
since 1902, the Amalgamated Association, but it
remained underground and small until it became part of
the new CIO. SWOC obtained several thousand dollars
from the CIO for organizing expenses and borrowed dis-
trict staff from John L. Lewis' United Mine Workers.
SWOC charged no initiation fee and only a dollar per Philip Nyden: The use of strikes, lasting a few hours
month dues. Despite its general "top-down" structure, and involving a few workers in a work setting, was effec-
SWOC at the Harbor works was built primarily by young, tive in pressuring company officials to expedite settle-
Left, rank-and-filers, like the remarkable Socialist Party ment of grievances. When supervisors refused to deal
member Bill Young. with pressing issues, the men thought nothing of stop-
ping work and letting gondolas full of molten steel hang
Bill Gai/es: Bill Young was a hell of a guy. If somebody in midair. The approaching danger that production
come to him with a grievance, he'd pick up the phone would be interrupted acted as a time clock forcing the
and call the foreman. He'd say, "God dammit, if you company to bargain. More often than not, the supervi-
don't put this man back to work, I'll do this and I'll do sors settled before much production time was lost.
that." He could tell people off. He kicked tail.
Edward Zivich: In May and June of 1937 one of the
Mike 0/szanski: 1010 had a long tradition of militancy. bloodiest industrial conflicts in American labor history
Local leaders negotiated their own contracts before the took place. In March U. S. Steel had signed a collective
International had solid control. Bill Young, whose father bargaining contract. When Youngstown, Bethlehem,
was beaten during the 1919 Steel Strike, recalled being Republic and Inland refused to sign similar agreements,
clubbed on the head at the Memorial Day Massacre, SWOC called a nationwide strike against the compa-
where ten union men, including three from Local 1010, nies. Violence by company thugs, police and militia
were gunned down by "Chicago's Finest." "They beat wrecked most of the urban centers of the "Little Steel"
me pretty good, but I was on the picket line the next strike. East Chicago suffered no major trouble due to
morning." When asked why he joined the union, Bill several factors. The governor, a New Deal Democrat,
Young replied, "You had no rights the boss was bound played a key conciliatory role, restraining city officials
to respect." more inclined to use the militia. The union maintained

9. 7
Memorial Day Massacre
taverns closed. SWOC held a dance to bolster its mem-
bers for the anticipated picket-line defense of the next
morning. At midnight, strike director Jack Rusak
received word of a compromise and announced the
agreement to the astonished crowd . The dance sud-
denly became a victory party, as thousands sang
Solidarity Forever! The crisis had passed, despite
incredible tensions.
Behind the scenes, Governor Townsend had been
working hard for a settlement. In the end Inland and
SWOC signed an agreement not with each other but
with the Governor. Inland's labor policy was now in writ-
ing, and the State of Indiana assumed responsibility for
settling disputes unresolved by the plant's grievance
procedure. While the union was unrecognized in the
other three Little Steel companies, Inland's strikers had
obtained a binding written settlement. Lodge 1010 was
at Inland to stay.
Renewed depression dampened union activities and
temporarily prevented Lodge 101 0 from following up on
its victory. Orders for steel dropped, followed naturally
by a large number of layoffs. Dues money dipped and
the union reduced its staff. There was great pressure
good discipline and enjoyed the support of most Inland from the district not to strike or carry out any other job-
employees. Community pressure kept down police vio- actions despite anti-CJO abuse by supervisors. In
lence, and township relief kept many workers from feel- January 1938, Local 101 0 elected a slate of militant offi-
ing the full pinch of the strike. cers, led by William Maihoffer. As outlined in the
Townsend agreement, grievances moved from the shop
Lodge 1010's three strike deaths occurred away from floor to Superintendent Fred Gillies' office by several
the Harbor. On Sunday May 30 fifty cars full of Lodge intermediary steps. Most were handled verbally on the
101 0 members, families and supporters demonstrated shop floor; they covered the spectrum - discipline, dis-
their solidarity with the workers on strike against charge, safety, wage rates, anti-union and racial dis-
Republic Steel's plant in South Chicago. That day 1010 crimination, sanitation. The union was able to establish
members Alfred Causey, Kenneth Reed and Sam a seniority basis for rehiring laid-off workers through its
Popovich were gunned down with other steel union mar- monthly meetings with Gillies.
tyrs in the infamous Memorial Day Massacre. The May
31 parade scheduled previously for the Harbor thus 1939 brought financial recovery. Defense orders
became a commemorative demonstration for the dead played an especially important role in reviving Inland's
and wounded. Bandages from the previous day's sagging sales. Lodge 1010 was signing up new mem-
assault were in evidence in the crowd. That evening bers, 1,500 in a single three-week period, and employ-
plant police brutally clubbed four SWOC pickets as they ing a dues picket line famous among CIO officials in the
attempted to prevent an unannounced freight train from Midwest. For two or three days each month members
entering the mill. This proved to be the only violence would mass picket the mill gates, demanding to see
that occurred during the walkout. paid-up union books from each worker. Nonunion work-
ers had to climb the high company fences to get to work.
When Inland announced it would reopen if provided Once in the plant, they faced the silent treatment and
police protection, Mayor Rooney petitioned for sheriff's other persuasive digs from unionized coworkers. 1010
deputies and militia to protect people returning to work. staged a Labor Day parade and picnic in Wicker Park
SWOC vowed to maintain its picket line by any means involving an estimated 60,000 people. By the end of
necessary. Yet Governor Clifford Townsend refused to 1939 union grievance handling changed drastically. To
answer the Mayor's pleas for deputies and militia. The cut through red tape and counteract Inland's stalling,
corporation finally set the reopening for eight a.m. July 1010 engaged in numerous strikes, sit-ins, and slow-
1. Worried about civil disorder, the Mayor ordered the downs. Croatian steelworker Matt Vuxinic recalled five

10. 8
departmental walkouts between 1939 and 1942. The posals, due to Nick Migas, John Sargent and the Rank
union took advantage of a unique pre-war situation that and File Caucus. When the question came up of "30 for
made uninterrupted production (and profits) Inland's 40," meaning a 30-hour week for 40 hours pay, only
goal. Local 1010 made it part of their demands.
African-American Bill Young was a leading figure in Germano verses Patterson, Round One
nine stoppages in the Structural Department. In April of
1940 the Structural Department struck for weekly pay- James Kollros: At the 1942 convention Joe Germano
checks called for by state law and won. In May 1941, was re-elected to the post of district director by the dis-
steward Louis Abrams led a work stoppage in the cold trict delegates. In the end he ran unopposed, but that
strip mill over an unsettled grievance. In June 1941 fact masked an intense political struggle behind the
Inland obtained a restraining order against 101O's dues scenes. Germano's opponents nominated George
picket lines. SWOC members were arrested for violat- Patterson to oppose him. Patterson agreed to run at
ing the order in August while organizing the Blast first despite threats and appeals to withdraw. In the end
Furnace. The CIO shut down the blast furnaces, threat- Patterson realized that the meeting was being "stuffed"
ening Inland with the costly job of rebuilding them, and and that he could not win. At the last minute he declined
Inland's action against the dues picket lines stopped. A to run.
November 1941, walkout in Structural failed to gain pay-
checks for the day before Thanksgiving but won such David McDonald(Union Man,1969): All the results
checks for Christmas Eve. A February 1942, Structural were in but District 31 . I dispatched Howard Hague to
strike won equal pay for women. find out the cause of the delay. He hurried back to tell
us our candidate, Joseph Germano, was in trouble. He
While these job actions had local union approval, they was being challenged by a man who had consistently
were primarily movements from below. The walkouts followed a Marxist line and whom we believed to be a
received the total condemnation of the International. Communist. He had been in the Memorial Day
The stoppages were generally successful in regaining Massacre and was looked on as a hero by many mem-
jobs for discharged or disciplined workers, removing bers.
safety hazards, disciplining abusive foreman, getting
wages raised, and the like. By 1942 Lodge 1010 mem- One of Germano's friends was presiding and trying to
bers enjoyed the best wages and working conditions of delay a vote as long a possible while Germano's hench-
any steelworkers in the world. men beat the auditorium for votes. I told Hague to round
up members of our auditing staff who could circulate
Philip Nyden: 101 0 was organized by "insiders" who unnoticed among the Chicago delegates. Then I offered
formulated bylaws which encouraged rank-and-file chairman John Doherty a hand. He didn't need it. He
involvement. Union offices, such as assistant grievers, was pretending to be confused about the vote tally and
safety stewards, and committee heads, were elective, in doing a magnificent job of stalling. I watched Hague's
contrast with most USWA locals. The democratic recruits drift into the room and counted them. When we
mechanisms stimulated grassroots involvement. As one had enough to swing the election, I nodded to Doherty,
insurgent put it, "The lining up starts a lot lower on the and he called for a vote.
totem pole than it does in most locals."
A Dubious Contractual Breakthrough
Cliff Mezo: In the old days, organizers had to sell their
product. John Sargent(Rank and File, 1973): Inland Steel
Company said they'd rather shut their place down forev-
Mike Mezo: Local 1010 has a history of militancy. The er than recognize the Steelworkers Union. The workers
early organizers left a legacy and a model for dealing developed the most militant and the most inspiring type
with a brutally militant company that made you earn of rank-and-file organization that you can have. When
every damn thing you got. Inland fought the union until the company realized what was happening, they
the end and still had an arsenal of weapons during the became smart and understood that they had to recog-
1950s. If it hadn't been for World War II, we'd probably nize the International leadership and take the affairs out
still be fighting for recognition. The local never got com- of the hands of the ordinary elected officials on a local
fortable because they knew the company would stab scale.
you in the back if you let down your guard.
Local 1010 Steel Worker (Aug. 28, 1980): John
AI Samter: Local 1010 led the area in progressive pro- Sargent gave his time and energy in the days when

11. 9
Local 1010 Pres. John Sargent witnesses signing of 1942 contract by J. Doherty, J. H. Walsh, Fred Gillies, P. Murray and J. Germano
nobody was paid for organizing and many got fired. He Edward Zivich: The War Labor Board provided Philip
was Picket Captain in the 1937 strike and in 1942 was Murray and national SWOC with ultimate victory in the
elected President of the Local, then reelected in 1943 longstanding feud with Little Steel companies; but the
and 1944. In 1944, he resigned to join the navy for 3 contract, coupled with America's involvement in World
years. When he returned in 1946, he was again elected War II, ended Inland SWOC's militant strike years. The
president and held office almost continuously for 20 International obtained institutionalized collective bar-
years. gaining. An era had ended. On August 5, 1942, Inland
became the first of the Little Steel group to sign a union
James Kollros: In 1944 John Sargent beat James contract. The agreement granted a retroactive wage
Johnson for the presidency by a vote of 1,658 to 1, 168. increase but drastically modified 101O's grievance han-
Harry Powell beat Joe Jeneske for vice-president and dling. Local 1010 could not strike to settle grievances;
replaced Nick Migas, who had gone onto the district staff some would be tied up for months or years. A strike on
in 1943. A couple months later Sargent resigned and grievances could now bring jail sentences and firings.
enlisted in the Navy. Powell took over as president for Direct-action labor tactics were now costly and illegal.
the rest of the term.
Mike 0/szanski: President Sargent's 1943 letter to the
War Department, threatening to strike Inland in defiance
of the CIO (and CP) supported wartime no-strike pledge,
brings into question Sargent's adherence to any "party
line" during the war years but adds weight to his image
as a militant rank and file oriented leader.
Edward Zivich: With 101O's CP radicals pushing for
unhampered war production, the ban on strikes only dis-
turbed one ideological faction, the Trotskyites. Trbovich
and others, at great risk, led a departmental strike over
a discharge to a successful rehiring. But the strike tac-
tic was clearly dying. A plant-wide stoppage after the
war, again on a discharge case, was pinned on "Wildcat
Johnny" Sargent and the CP faction .
Bill Young (sitting) and Manuel Trbovich

12. 10
Germano verses Patterson, Round Two Ruth Needleman: Leftists made civil rights an integral
part of the Local's culture. William Maihoffer, John
James Kollros: Germano conducted a dirty campaign. Sargent, and Nick Migas, each of whom served as pres-
Patterson's supporters were threatened. The Local ident, spoke out strongly against discrimination. In 1938
101 0 nominating meeting was stopped by the chairman Bill Young became 101O's first vice president. During
before its business was finished. Subsequently, the World War II he served as chairman of the grievance
International tellers ruled that the nomination for committee. His position and credibility, however,
Patterson was invalid. Nick Migas, Local 101O's seemed to be linked to his identification with "real union
staffman, was excluded from staff meetings. Except for issues" acceptable to the white majority. Still his leader-
Migas and Mayerik, the staff supported Germano and ship position demonstrated that blacks could be elected
did not hesitate to use their influence for him. In fact, to top office.
many Patterson supporters expected Germano to win
and campaigned only in the hope of raising issues. The James Alexander: Alexander Bailey and Bill Young
most disruptive problem for Patterson was that he was were strong black leaders at Inland, but it didn't seem
drafted in the middle of the campaign. He had to report that their intentions were to get doors open for others.
for service some six weeks before the vote. It was insin- Each seemed to be saying, "You've got me."
uated that the Germano forces may have been respon-
sible for Patterson's induction. Bill Gailes: Bailey was a good union man but con-
cerned mostly about his own department. A real leader
AI Samter: Just before the election, Germano used his is concerned about the whole ball of wax.
contacts on the Draft Board and got Patterson drafted.
Otherwise, he surely would have won. He was Ruth Needleman: After the war, more blacks spoke
President of Local 65 and had support from all the Left- out at meetings, and more positions were set aside for
led locals, including 1010 and 1011, in addition to 1014. minorities. Glover Gary, chairman of the East Chicago
John Mayerik got fired from his staff job for supporting NAACP, complained about the company's barring blacks
Patterson against Germano. He got rehired at U.S. from certain departments and about the union's failure to
Steel and about six months later got elected President challenge employer practices. Clarence Royster, AI
of 1014 again. The charismatic Mayerik, an original McClain, Eugene Blue, Eugene Jacque and William
organizer at Gary Works, had gathered around him Gailes gained visibility. I~ time African Americans used
many leaders of the Eastern European groups, includ- the political rivalry between caucuses to secure white
ing Russians, Poles, Czechs, Lithuanians, plus leading support. Initially, caucuses began to set aside positions
black activists. Later Mayerik ran against Germano, the for blacks but then slated them to run against each other
last guy to make the ballot before Sadlowski. so fighting developed between groups of black activists.
The vital factor in moving beyond tokenism was inde-
From Tokenism to Anti-Discrimination at 1010 pendent organization, an insight eventually acted upon
by Bill Gailes.
Betty Balanoff: Local1010 stayed militant longer than
most locals. It stuck out like a sore thumb in that Bill Gailes: In Fairfield, Alabama, I had worked for
respect. Inland was very involved in civil rights, in get- Tennessee Coal and Iron. Their company union had a
ting city Fair Practices laws passed, for instance. sadistic initiation ceremony, like the Klan. When they
assigned me to the sheet mill, I thought I'd be making
Morris Janowitz(The Community Process in an sheets. I had black and white shoes on, that's how little
Urban Setting, 1967): Trade union democracy is not I knew about what I was getting into. I quit the mill five
merely the formal elections but the system of coalition times. I had the wanderlust. I wanted to finish college.
between ethnic groups. The emergence of blacks rep- I went to U. S. Steel once. After I came back to Inland,
resents the latest stage of leadership succession. they put "No more hire" on my record. That would be my
last chance. I never missed a day after that. It was time
Mike Olszanski: Nick Migas, an open member of the to settle down.
CP and an ally of John Sargent, led a wildcat strike in
number one Open Hearth when the company refused to After the war, they hired D.P.s before they'd hire
promote a black man to second helper on the furnace. blacks with honorable discharges. I saw one guy tear up
He recalled telling his fellow workers, "Discrimination his discharge papers and throw them on the ground.
starts, maybe, with a Negro, but next it will go to the That was the position they put us in. When they moved
Mexican worker and then maybe to the so-called hillbil- the first black man up to heater, all the whites quit.
ly. And where will it stop?;' The man got the job. When they put a black women in the tin mill, the whites

13. 11
there walked out. Don Lutes stuck with her. He said, "If try to change Royster's mind. ''They told me," an
you want to quit, fine." unmoved Royster recalled, "that my attitude was too
harsh and white people might rebel against finding three
Ruth Needleman: On April 25, 1946, Local 101 0 sent white men guilty of discrimination. If I persisted in going
a resolution to union president Philip Murray protesting for three, I might lose all three as well as commit politi-
''the segregation of colored delegates attending the con- cal suicide."
stitutional convention" and urging "that those who made
the arrangements be condemned." On October 2, 1947, The incident seemed to mark a turning point in black
Local 1010 sent a communication to the International activism in Local 1010. Bill Gailes convinced his all-
criticizing "the small number of Negro representatives on black sheet mill crew to attend the union meeting at
staff." In January 1949, at a union meeting a worker which the vote would be taken on the trial board's rec-
observed that Local 101O's basketball team still played ommendation. The presence of so many African
only in Whiting, a Jim Crow town, and, as a result, had Americans must have been intimidating. Only five peo-
no black players. ple voted against the recommendation of the trial board
to bring all three up on charges. The strategy won over
In September 1950, Local 1010 debated whether to Don Lutes, who had spent the previous evening repair-
provide support for a Mexican youth organization. ing his relations with the white workers in the Power and
President Bill Maihoffer urged the Local to allocate $500 Steam Department.
to help organize Mexican workers recently recruited into
the mill. This motion drew substantial opposition. At the It took the International more than a year to consider
next meeting Recording Secretary Mary Kelley (later an appeal and in the end ordered pu nishment for only
Mary Gyurko) suggested that an organization open to all the ringleader. He was denied participation in union
young people would not be discriminatory. In fact, the affairs for two years and prohibited from holding office
Local bought tickets for events and organizations that for five years. The Power and Steam Department
excluded blacks. Maihoffer pointed to another request remained white, although a few months later Bill Young
from a group of lady bowlers. He asked if the union thanked the Grievance Committee for advancing "the
should drop the request "because the women who wish first Negro ever to hold a machinists' job in the mill." The
to bowl are all white women." After a voice vote, hand company took no disciplinary action against any of the
vote and division of the floor, the president's motion was three.
defeated. As late as 1952 a resolution asked Inland to
"allow the Negroes to have their own bowling team." Experiences of Mexican-Americans
Local 1010 helped integrate East Chicago theaters, Mike 0/szanski: Some Mexicans were brought in by
restaurants, and bars long before apprenticeship pro- Inland as scabs in 1919. Many were housed in a com-
grams or craft jobs were open to black workers. In pany-owned flea bag hotel in the shadow of the mill
January 1952, when Jesse Godwin transferred into the known as the Baltimore. Many helped build the union.
Power and Steam Department, workers threw three gal-
lons of torch oil on him while he was smoking a ciga- Cliff Mezo {The Great Divide, 1988): There were two
rette. The grievance officer brought Godwin to talk with halves to East Chicago. One is the Irish and Polish end.
top officers, but there was disagreement over whether to Closer to the mills is where you had all the hotels and
charge all three white workers, or just one, as the com- where they recruited Mexicans and Puerto Ricans and
pany wanted. Union elections being a few months off, blacks from the South. They imported the Mexicans with
politics prevailed. Maihoffer feared a white backlash one thought: to weaken the union. Actually they became
while grievance committee chairman Don Lutes saw an our staunchest union people.
opportunity to establish his anti-discrimination creden-
tials. Eugene Blue, chair of the Anti-Discrimination Ed Sadlowski: My dad started in 1936 or so in the
Committee, was outraged but backed off when Maihoffer labor yard. Some Mexican guys had been there 15 or
warned him not to aggravate racial tensions. 20 years. Some had come during the 1919 strike. My
dad had been trying to get into the open hearth, which
When Clarence Royster insisted that all three men be paid much better, and this Irish foreman kept giving him
charged, Maihoffer accused him of being obstinate and the run-around. Finally, when the 1937 strike started,
urged him to sign the majority report. Bill Gailes stood the foreman promised to get him transferred if he didn't
behind Royster. Bill Young and Buster Logan, the two walk out. My dad said, "No, mac, I'm going out." They
African-American old-timers, were cornered by white were sitting by the shanty, and the foreman asked a
financial secretary Tom Conway, who persuaded them to Mexican, "How about you?" The Mexican said, "Mac,

14. 12
you fooled us in 1919, but you're not going to fool us Hispanics weren't being slated by union caucuses until
again." we allied with one slate, and it made other caucuses
realize they'd have to slate Hispanics, too. In 1956 the
Nick Migas(Rank and File, 1973): We had a lot of leader of the Union Builder Caucus, Don Lutes, Sr., took
Mexican workers in my department. They were con- a foremen's job, so I was asked to run for recording sec-
stantly kept on small, menial jobs - scrap yard, labor retary. Later on we merged with the Rank and File
gang, furnaces - dirty, menial, hard work. And no Caucus for the convention delegates election. When I
chance of promotion. That's why the union swept like a won; I was amazed. I was the 29th out of 30.
wildfire through the mills.
AI Samter and Civil Rights Committees
James Kollros: In the summer of 1943 the company
fired several Mexicans at the urging of the FBI. The AI Samter: After the war I had worked for a small
union managed to put a stop to that. In 1944 the local record store in New York and then got laid off. The big
asked the national office to print copies of the contract in chain stores started reducing prices on phonograph
Spanish so that Latino workers could read it. The local records, which forced mom-and-pop stores to cut back.
also bought 100 fund-raising books from the Sleepy I was finally hired as an organizer for the union, but then
Lagoon Defense Committee (defending several the union itself suffered because of the cutback in the
Mexican youths in Los Angeles). In the summer of 1945 retail business. I was off and on the unemployment rolls
two union leaders investigated how the company and finally decided to make use of my G.l. Bill of Rights
recruited Mexican workers in South Texas. They dis- and get into an apprentice program.
covered that Inland paid for their transportation in
advance and housed them in company housing in Everybody was going to the big industries, so in April
Indiana Harbor, thus creating a compliant group of work- of 1949, I came to Northwest Indiana and applied for an
ers. apprenticeship. They didn't have any such programs
open but were hiring for the summer. They sent me out
Roberto Flores: My father was a veteran of World War to the coal chemical plant, as a pump operator. At that
I. After his discharge, he heard about Hispanics getting time there was a lot of movement among employees
jobs in steel mills in the Chicago area. He came to the nationwide. If you stayed in one place, you could move
Region in 1924, the year before I was born and worked on up. The summer job turned into a permanent job. I
at Inland. I started working there in high school, while stayed 37 years. I never did get into the apprenticeship
attending East Chicago Washington, before I went off to program. My job, especially after they built a new coal
World War II. Inland executives recruited about a hun- chemical plant in 1955, paid more than I would have got-
dred of us at an assembly to work from 4:30 to 8:30. ten in any of the craft jobs. My department took light oils
Those under 18 had to wear a red badge, which meant which come off the coke-making process and separated
you couldn't handle mobile equipment. It was hard work and distilled them into the industrial oils benzene,
in the open hearth. If we stayed until11 :30, they paid us toluene, and xylene.
for eight hours. Many times we stayed. It was difficult
to get up for school, but a lot of families needed the I became a shop steward and got acquainted with
money. On weekends we worked eight hours. Curtis Strong, who was running for grievance commit-
teeman to replace a man retiring in the middle of his
I played on the Midwest Mexican All-Stars. My uncle term. I wrote some of his material. After he was elect-
was manager. One day at Block Stadium we played ed, I became a shop steward. One of my jobs was to
against Satchel Paige. I was the first Hispanic to pitch sign up new members. The agreement in force at that
for Inland in the Industrial League. Many of us who time had a "maintenance of membership" clause. If you
played baseball did well in union politics. Once you've signed the people up, they remained union members
played sports, you want to keep competing. I was work- until the termination of the agreement, at which time
ing in the 44-inch mill. We were only working four days they had the option of withdrawing from the union.
a week, so I transferred to the open hearth, where they There were still some old-timers who were not union
were working six days, plus overtime. I became a safe- members, but I kept signing them up until our depart-
ty rep and steward. I was aggressive in pushing for bet- ment was 100% union. Because of all the new people
ter conditions. I bid on the clerical sequence and coming in, I was pretty busy.
became a weigh master. After the strike of 1959, so
much steel was stockpiled, they didn't call everybody Shop stewards went to Political Action Committee
back. After a seven month layoff I ended up in the met- meetings once a month, and during election campaigns
allurgical section. we got dollar donations from union members. On elec-

15. 13
tion day we went out on our off-hours and took people to man; but after he kicked out the communists it was all
the polls. A few of us would be paid to take time off from downhill.
our jobs. We were an effective force. Partly as a result
of our efforts, we elected a member of the Local 1014 Jesse Reese: The Communists built the union, but
executive board to the Gary City Council. John L. Lewis and Philip Murray fired every Communist
organizer, and the union's been going back, back, back,
Within the John Mayerik caucus at 1014, black leaders ever since.
such as Jacob "Jake" Blake, Curtis Strong, Pat Riley,
and John Howard were beginning to form their own Edward Zivich: Made bold by the Taft-Hartley Act and
coalitions in order to push for more representation. John the Cold War, the company fired over 80 workers in a
Howard went on the slate as vice-president as a result flurry of red-baiting. In 1950 1010 lost its monthly griev-
of this pressure. Blake persuaded Mayerik to form the ance meeting with management. Contract bargaining
1014 Civil Rights Committee. He then appointed Blake moved to Pittsburgh with little direct input on local con-
as chairman, and added me and several others. The ditions. A local that once had unbelievable membership
committee elected me secretary. Jake Blake was a participation became the concern of the few. Conditions
great actor. He was a trustee on 1014's executive board in the mill deteriorated. Grievances remained unsettled.
and an assistant grievance committeeman. He could As John Sargent concluded, in making the International
charm an audience. His whole family was very religious. part of the establishment, they took the guts and the
There was pressure on him to get into the religious field fight out of the union.
and eventually he became a minister in East Chicago.
Philip Nyden: McCarthyism had a dampening effect on
At one point we decided to have a joint civil rights the formation of political opposition groups. Many dissi-
committee meeting at Local 1014's headquarters. At dents were prohibited from holding union office .
that time Fred Stern was working at Youngstown. He Conservative union leaders used anticommunism as a
was an officer in his civil rights committee. Jim Balanoff license to squelch dissent. The top union leadership fur-
was part of that civil rights group. At that point the ther consolidated its control as a result of dues "check
International decided they better recognize us, so they off" systems and by using its right to take control of a
sent somebody in from the International. It was one of local union in the event of "questionable" practices.
the things that pushed them into having a civil rights divi- They consolidated their control over bargaining, conven-
sion. tions, finances, staff, committees, and district leader-
ship. At the 1950 Convention, the International leader-
Red Scare ship was made the sole "contracting party" for all collec-
tive agreements and took from District Directors their
James Kollros: Many of the leaders in 1010 had a left- discretion in interpreting contract language.
wing analysis of class struggle. They believed the real
strength of the union depended on mass support. They Mike 0/szanski: When the Left was run out, it left a
encouraged rank and file involvement in organizing. vacuum, and pulled the teeth out of the union. Left lead-
The fine union built up in the early years eventually suc- ers were no longer in positions to remind others that the
cumbed to bureaucratic leadership. The main reason adversarial relationship was basic and fundamental to
was because the top leadership of the country and the capitalism. Still, 1010 remained a rebel local and did not
district replaced the left-wing, democratic leadership. tow the line. The Taft-Hartley Act's anti-communist affi-
The process of this replacement lasted well into the davit requirement put increased pressure on non-com-
1950s and was not the result of one magic moment. munist union leaders, who by signing would not only
Part of the process involved being in a national union throw their more militant brothers and sisters to the reac-
and in a world war against fascism, where local groups tionary wolves, but also demonstrate their total disre-
had to sacrifice special benefits for the common good. gard for Constitutional rights of free speech and associ-
The divisions of the Cold War years further undercut the ation. Many capitulated. To those brave trade unionists
left. who refused, the USWA constitution branded them as
"devoid of principle and destitute of honor."
AI Samter: Open communists played a leading role in
the formation of the CIO. Used because of their dedica- I don't think union leaders were on the take, but they
tion and ability to organize, they were thrown out when didn't need to be. If they "do the damn deed," what's the
it was felt they were no longer needed. difference if they got paid for it directly. It was probably
more insidious that they did it because thought it was the
Mike 0/szanski: Phil Murray was probably a virtuous right thing. Being anti-communists, they felt they had to

16. 14
Striking tor Pensions, Steelworkers demonstrate at Plant 2 South
defend the company to the workers paying their mittee. Germano's people appealed to the International
salaries. They were class-collaborators. Executive Board, and it decided that Local 101 0 must
remove Migas or face administratorship. Migas quit his
John Brophy(C/0 leader quoted in Labor's Untold job and moved to a farm in Wisconsin before the final
Story, 1955): The real objective of redbaiting is to kill verdict was issued.
the CIO, to destroy collective bargaining, to destroy the
unity of the organized and unorganized workers, that the Mike 0/szanski: An especially poignant example of
CIO is building throughout the nation. guilt by association was the case of Stanley Rygas. In
1953 he was removed from office as assistant griever by
Mike 0/szanski: John Sargent, Joe Gyurko, and Nick President Don Lutes for allegedly rubber-stamping his
Migas, who negotiated the workers' first contracts, got name to Communist literature and mailing it to other
beaten up on the picket lines, and collected dues at the members. While he "emphatically denied this forgery''
plant gates, were hounded by the FBI, dragged before and subsequent charges of violating the USWA's anti-
HUAC, and redbaited in union elections. Gyurko had Communist clause, the International's secretary-treasur-
started at Inland in 1939 and paid his first union dues er upheld Lutes' motion to terminate his union member-
before his probationary period ended. During the war he ship subject to appeal in Pittsburgh. He subsequently
packed tin-plate in crates destined for our ally the Soviet kept his membership but never again ran for union
Union and admonished coworkers who, in his words, office. When Sargent's eligibility to run for office was
"nailed the crates just any old way 'cause it was for the challenged in 1954 and when he was called before
Russians." FBI agents sat in a car in front of his house HUAC in 1958, his association with Rygas was in turn
day and night, watching his every move. Migas was used as evidence against him.
beaten by USWA goons for exercising his right of free
speech at the 1948 convention, where as a duly elected Betty Balanoff: The union had a rule that no commu-
delegate, he challenged President Philip Murray over nist could hold office. They tried to get rid of both
his Cold War positions. Stanley Rygas and my husband Jim, but they said they
weren't communists and challenged them to prove they
James Kollros: Nick Migas was a former griever, a for- were and the union backed off. Otherwise, Jim would
mer staff man and president of Local1 01 0 during the big never have got past griever.
wildcat strike in 1945. At the 1948 convention a leaflet
was put on the delegates' seats over the lunch break, AI Samter: When they used the communists as whip-
signed openly by Migas. Its two linked themes were that ping boys, they also threw out all those who opposed the
the steel workers needed a large raise and that Philip administration. Union leaders redbaited as bad as
Murray and the union leaders were sellouts for not win- HUAC and Joe McCarthy. If you weren't virulently anti-
ning such a raise. Ostensibly, the leaflet was issued as communist and opposed the administration, you must
a way to force Murray to call on Migas to speak. Migas be a communist. The participation of the left-wing was
was recognized and made a speech, but the pro-Murray drastically reduced. In its hearings in Gary HUAC tried
delegates drowned him out. After the speech, Migas to put me in a category, and I refused to say, "Yes, I was
was escorted outside by Murray's personal bodyguard, an active member of the Communist Party." I wouldn't
where a gang of thugs beat him up. give HUAC any names. As far as I was concerned, I did-
n't know who was and who wasn't.
After Migas was elected griever in June of 1948,
Germano induced 15 workers to bring charges that he Roberta Wood: My fath.e r worked at Bethlehem Steel
should be removed because of his membership in the in Sparrows Point. He was fired during the McCarthy
Communist Party. The local trial committee refused to era. He and some others refused to testify before
remove him. The local voted to support the trial com- HUAC, to name names. They hadn't done anything

17. 15
Director Germano listens while President McDonald Speaks
wrong at work. They had a rule that anybody who had
worked in the Henry Wallace campaign couldn't be an
officer in the Steelworkers Union. It was part of the cam-
paign to purge Communists and progressives. The
International told the local, don't touch these cases. So
they wouldn't file a grievance. People collected petitions
for them, which was pretty brave in those days.
Because of McCarthyism, my parents had the habit of
not discussing their CP affiliation. People still have
these habits, even when there's no rational basis any
more. It's like some secret, shameful thing. It's really
hurt not only the Party but the labor movement.
A lot of "Red Diaper Babies" feel like their life was
scarred by growing up in a Communist family, especial-
ly during the fifties. That was such a terrible time for
working-class people. It was so stifling. There was this
TV ideal that nobody lived up to. Everyone felt deficient.
To me I think I was better off in an activist household
where it was O.K. to be different. But a lot of people felt
bitter and at a certain point left. Then naturally they
came up with a rationale for leaving. Other people I
worked with in the mill, when I met them years later, were numbered. After his death, however, McDonald
would remark, "Oh, yeah when I was in the Party ... " And won the board's agreement that he take over the presi-
they were never in the Party, at least as I saw it. We dency, which now embraced powers heretofore resident
were afraid to ever ask them to join, yet they felt like they in the secretary-treasurer. McDonald had indeed inher-
were in it all along. These kind of experiences have ited it all.
given me, in my "old age," a broader idea of the Party's
role in the working class struggle. Staughton Lynd (The Guardian, Feb. 1973):
McDonald never enjoyed the genuine affection which
From Murray to McDonald Murray commanded. He was immensely vain and soon
earned the phrase ''tuxedo leadership" for his high living,
John Herling (In Right to Challenge): The last days his hobnobbing with celebrities, and his disdain for work-
of Philip Murray were days of disappointment. He died ing people.
suddenly on November 9, 1952, five days after Adlai E.
Stevenson had been defeated for the national presiden- H. W Benson (Union Democracy Review, 1973}: In
cy. The Stevenson campaign had represented not only 1955 President McDonald ran a handpicked candidate
a deep political commitment for Murray but also a large- for vice president to fill a vacancy created by the death
scale investment of money, energy, and union manpow- of an incumbent. His man won, but only after stubborn
er. He was also weighed down by a more intimate bur- resistance from within the official family. Joe Molony
den: the necessity of dealing surgically with an unpleas- broke ranks to run against McDonald's choice. When
ant personal problem, the removal of Secretary- Molony supporters tried to campaign in Germano territo-
Treasurer David J. McDonald. For many years Murray ry, thugs invaded their rally and four Molony backers
had regarded him almost as a son, whose career in the ended in the hospital after a beating. In that campaign,
union he had launched and advanced but was now Germano showed how effectively his organization could
determined to halt. perform. Molony did well almost everywhere but in
Germano's district was swamped 50 to 1.
During Murray's serious 1951 illness, McDonald had
taken over the reins and instructed his public relations Dues Protest Movement
men to revise the Murray obituary. But Murray recov-
ered and learned of McDonald's meticulous prepara- Philip Nyden: Between 1948 and 1956 the
tions. He exploded to a visitor, "See what the dirty little International leadership's domination of Constitutional
son of a bitch has done to me. He's got me buried." For Conventions allowed it to win dues increases three
weeks this was his constant refrain. On the eve of the times despite considerable opposition. This helped
1952 convention, Murray made it clear McDonald's days build up a substantial treasury, much of which could be

18. 16
used at the leadership's discretion. When a rank-and- the challenge. According to reporter John Herling,
file reform organization did emerge, it was weak but did Rarick was offered $250,000 to withdraw. He refused.
represent a changing consciousness among dissidents.
The Dues Protest Committee, formed as a protest to a AI Samter: Rarick traveled around the country in his
dues increase at the 1956 convention, pursued issues own recreational vehicle. He came to 1014 and parked
related to democracy, accountability, honesty in elec- in this little lot behind the union hall. While he was
tions, protection of local autonomy, and better shopfloor speaking to us, Norman Harris, a staff representative for
union representation. Initial recruitment centered Joe Germano, came over with a bunch of goons from
around a petition and local resolution campaign calling Chicago. A few of them came upstairs and started a
for a special dues rollback convention. ruckus while Rarick was trying to speak. Meanwhile,
Harris and a couple of other guys set fire to Rarick's RV.
Betty Balanoff: Goons threw Curtis Strong out of a All of a sudden somebody comes up the stairs yelling,
third-floor window after he protested the dues increase. "Hey, there's a RV on fire in the parking lot."
Curtis Strong: Steelworkers didn't go as far as the Ed Sadlowski: I hadn't been working long but got
Teamsters or Mineworkers, but the leadership was not active in the Rarick campaign. That's when I met Curtis
adverse to certain persuasive measures. There were Strong. Stealing elections was so common, guys would
times when I felt in danger, but I was young and crazy sit around drinking and brag about it.
and not intimidated. At the 1956 convention these guys
had gotten into my hotel room and jumped me while I John Herling: McDonald defeated Rarick 404,172 to
was putting my pajamas. One held me, and another hit 223,516. Detailed charges of vote rigging were made by
me so hard he broke my jaw and knocked me out. If I Rarick backers. Although Rarick claimed to have won
had not been unconscious, the doctor said, the fall prob- Local 1014 in Gary by 9,000 to 3,000, he said the count
ably would have killed me. I landed right next to an iron had been turned around through fraud. Rarick's charge
fence; in fact, my pajama top got caught on a spike. was labeled ''fantastic" and "sour grapes."
Staughton Lynd: When McDonald proposed an H. W Benson: Rarick's followers claimed that votes
increase in his own salary from $40,000 to $50,000 and were stolen wholesale and demanded a local by local
an increase from $3 to $5 in monthly membership dues, breakdown instead of an overall count. In those days,
rebellion broke out on the floor. The leader was Donald there were no federal controls over union elections.
Rarick, then a politically conservative grievance com- McDonald simply turned down their demand, and that
mitteeman from McKeesport. McDonald gavelled the was that.
dues increase amid a storm of booing and calls for a
roll-call vote. Rarick and others used the long train ride Staughton Lynd: Despite widespread fraud, Rarick
home from Los Angeles to good advantage. On Oct. 19, received 36% of the vote, an astonishing showing for a
1956 the Dues Protest Committee (DPC) was organized grievance committeeman unknown six months before.
at a meeting of some 50 representatives of Pittsburgh-
area locals. John Herling: At the 1958 convention the International
John Herling: Confronting the Dues Protest movement
was the problem of communication. Internal channels
were under the strict control of the International office.
Anybody bucking the leadership would have to piece
together the necessary lists over a period of many
weeks. The process of instructing local supporters to
petition for a special convention was slow and discour-
aging work. There was no experience to fall back on.
Out of about 700 locals needed, no more than a hun-
dred petitioned for a special convention, but among
them was the largest, Local 1014 of Gary.
Staughton Lynd: After the petition drive failed, the
DPC then decided to try the electoral route. Rarick put
himself forward as a candidate for president. The I. W Abel, in Gary for a school dedication ceremony, hosts dis-
trict leaders, including African-American John Howard and bow-
McDonald administration tried desperately to head off tied Orval Kincaid, April 19, 1959