The End of an Era

Flores, who has a wife and three kids, worked as a machinist for LTV. His responsibilities included making parts for different departments in the mill. Flores also served as a union representative. At the time of his layoff, Flores had worked for LTV for 27 and one half years. 

Like Raybuck, Mike Street worked as an iron worker for LTV. He differs, however, in that his father was a pressman with the Chicago Tribune. His grandfather also had ink in his blood. He worked as a pressman with the Sun-Times. Street was born in Chicago. Then, his parents moved to Hammond. Street started in the steel industry at 19 years old. He had put in applications with Bethlehem Steel and Inland Steel. 

Eventually, Youngstown Sheet & Tube hired Street.“Everyone was hired back then,” Street said. “It was the Vietnam War.” The prospects excited the young Street. He went to work at a rate of $2.98 per hour, which was big money then. 

Hard Times 

LTV’s bankruptcy and the subsequent layoffs have created a pervasive uncertainty about health insurance, pensions, and other benefits. 

The uncertainty is complicated by the grim reality that some of the workers who lost their jobs have worked very little outside of the steel industry. Many former LTV employees remain optimistic. They cling to the hope that another steel company will come and rehire many of LTV’s former employees. 

“Right now, I am going to wait and see if they hire anyone back,” said Street. “I am going to look into being a boilermaker.” 

Former employees such as Street with 30 or more years experience may enjoy more security, since they are eligible for pensions. Others like Raybuck are more likely to feel the squeeze financially. 

“Most guys who have got 30 years won’t have to scramble financially,” said Raybuck. “Guys like me with 27 years will have to scramble. I will have to work at something until I’m 62” 

Flores, who studied manufacturing and engineering technology at Purdue-Calumet, already found success in making the transition. He has experience as an instructor. He also had a management position at one time. He parlayed the experience into a job as a substitute teacher. 

“I know I will survive,” Flores said. “I know my family will survive.” Flores is concerned about his friends because many are unprepared for their current predicament. Former LTV employees will be forced to take pay cuts when they go elsewhere to seek jobs. Whereas an employee at LTV Steel might have earned $21 per hour plus good benefits, the same person may fetch $10 per hour at another job. 

Mike Street shares many of the same concerns. He considers himself and his family among the fortunate, in that his house and vehicles are paid for. Now, he sets his sight on July of this summer, when his daughter will get married. Street knows his savings will evaporate with the expenses incurred for the wedding. 

The hard times in East Chicago go back to the days when Youngstown and Pittsburgh encountered hardship in the face of steel industry troubles. 

“It [the lay offs] will be devastating,” Raybuck said. “I went through this down in Youngstown. It took five years for Youngstown to come back.” 

The results of the massive layoffs will be manifold. The real estate market will suffer, as many people leave the area. The value of property will decline. Businesses will go by the wayside. And, as the tax base shrinks, school districts will be impacted. 

“Obviously, the employees will be hit hard by the layoffs,” said Joe Kosina, president of the Lake Shore Chamber of Commerce. “But it will have a spiraling effect throughout the community.” 

East Chicago, Indiana is like many other cities in the rust belt. It must cope with a non-diverse job base. Now, all the indications of desperation blemish the landscape. Casinos and other outlets for gambling can be found throughout the communities of East Chicago, Gary, and Hammond. Many families will pick up the stakes and move elsewhere. 

“This area has been dying for a long time,” explained Mariano Flores. “And I think it just died a little more.” 

Vanishing Americana 

The manufacturing base in the U.S. continues to weaken, giving rise to questions about the makeup of the American economy in the future. It would seem that as the economy becomes more service based, the gap between the rich and poor will widen. The LTV closure, likewise, points to the end of a way of life. 

“I will miss the camaraderie of the guys I worked with. We spent more time in the mills than with our families,” said Raybuck. “It is like a big family. Many of us have been together for 27 years.” 

The layoffs are indicative of the larger problems that the American steel industry continues to face on the global landscape. Nearly 30,000 jobs disappeared in the past 16 months. Since late 1997, the number of domestic steel companies entering bankruptcy has exceeded 20. The decline is attributable to low-cost steel from the international market and, over the past year, to the recession. Furthermore, American steel companies are paying the health care costs of retirees. 

Five of the nation’s biggest steel companies are considering a merger into a single corporation. U.S. Steel is outlining the developing U.S. merger plan. It would require the implementation of President Bush’s three-part program, announced to manage the excessive imports of steel that have given rise to the depression of the U.S. steel market.          Z 

Joseph Hoff is a freelance writer based in Chicago. He has contributed to the Indian Star, Sailing World, and American Artist Watercolor magazine.