pa1778data.pdf

U.S. STEEL DUQUESNE WORKS
HAER No. PA-115
(Page 13)
various stages inherent in the refining and rolling processes.
They calculated the chemical and metallurgical composition of the
material through visual inspection, while directing the work of
one or more helpers. Variations in the chemical and
metallurgical composition of specific batches of both pig and
wrought iron meant that the puddling and rolling processes rarely-
followed the same pattern from batch to batch. This, in turn,
further enhanced the indispensability of the skilled craftsman,
for only highly trained and experienced workers could cope with
the variables inherent in the production process. 13
The central, self-directing role that iron puddlers and
rollers played in the production of wrought iron products
conferred much power upon them with respect to their employers.
Their superior knowledge of the production process gave them the
opportunity to create strong unions for themselves and their crew
members from which they could exercise a significant amount of
control over the pace and allocation of work as well as the
benefits derived from their labor. For example, in addition to
negotiating a tonnage rate for the work to be done, union
puddlers also unilaterally fixed a stint of five pig iron charges
per furnace a day by 1870. Union rolling crews, after
negotiating a single tonnage rate for work to be done with the
company, collectively decided among themselves what portion of
the rate should go to each crew member. They also decided how
the work should be allocated between the different crews, how
much rolling should be done each day, and how new members should
be hired and allowed to progress through the ranks of the crew. 14
Unlike the wrought-iron industry, the technological basis of
the steel industry was modelled on a system of continuous flow
production. The system, which was grounded upon four factors,
had significant consequences with regard to the traditional labor
13 David Montgomery, The Fall of the House of Labor: The
Workplace, the State, and American Labor Activism, 1865 - 1925 (New
York: 1987) , 35; John A. Fitch, The Steel Workers (Pittsburgh:
1989) , 87; For a more indepth discussion of the relationship
between skilled craftsman and the process involved in the
production of wrought iron products see Michael Nuwer, "From Batch
to Flow: Production Technology and Workforce Skills in the Steel
Industry, 1880-1920," Technology and Culture 29(October 1988): 812-
5.
14 Montgomery, The Fall of the House of Labor, 16; Montgomery,
Workers Control in America: Studies in the History of Work.
Technology, and Labor Struggles (New York: 1979), 11-2; David
Brody, Steelworkers in America: The Nonunion Era (New York: 1960),
52.