Why We Opposed the Buyout at Weirton Steel

[Excerpt] On March 2, 1982, the National Steel conglomerate announced that it would make no further investments in its Weirton Steel division because a higher rate of profit could be made elsewhere. In the same press release the conglomerate suggested that the 11,000 employees of Weirton Steel buy the mill themselves. Unlike the steel mills that closed in Youngstown from 1977-1980, the Weirton mill was relatively modern and was making a profit (1% on 1981 sales of $1 billion). Continued operation of the facility made sense

How Bad a Deal Is Weirton Steel?

[Excerpt] Your issue on worker ownership was excellent. It should be a very useful document for many union people. I would like to raise two points, however

John L. Lewis and His Critics: Some Forgotten Labor History That Still Matters Today

The purpose of this essay is to propose a new answer to the question of what happened to the Congress of Industrial Organizations? Lynd argues the CIO became what its creator, United Mine Workers (UMW) president John L. Lewis, intended it to be. This approach is juxtaposed with the approach taken by A.J. Muste, who helped to lead the cotton textile strike of 1919 to victory, then founded the Brookwood Labor School—probably the most radical and effective school for workers in American history