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TOPIC:
DEINDUSTRIALIZATION
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We focus our analysis on Detroit and Youngstown. To begin we first talk about the decline of

these cities and their loss of appeal to industrialists and why they appealed in the first place.

January 1997, the blast furnace nicknamed “Jenny” is about to be brought down and its steel is to

be melted and reformed into steel pipes in an act of “industrial cannibalism” as the author would

like to put it. Jenny had been the heart of a vast and thriving industrial sector used for the

manufacture and distribution of steel and had been the source of income for more than 30,000

employees who had worked there, until it was all shut down in 1979. Up on the east hill side of

Jenny lies Brier Hill where the workers once lived but is now a ghost town with a few Italian

immigrants living there.

Starting in the 1940s the trend of moving to the suburbs caused a massive decline in the urban

population. An example of the scale of this migration is the construction of 2,000 homes and $33

million being spent on business development in Boardman between 1949 and 1954. This

movement was fueled by not only a desire to live in a nicer and cleaner neighborhood but also in

part by racism, traditions which had been common in the mills for a long time. What further

encouraged the suburban expansion was the construction of the I-680 beltway which caused the

destruction of many neighborhoods leading to the relocation of many families living there to

better living spaces in the suburbs. Following this trend, many steel companies took to the

suburbs while leaving the mills behind between the 50s and the 60s. Unfortunately, the same

period was marred by economic stagnation as various crime families fought with one another,

causing the local population to become embroiled in various acts of terrorism which included 11

killings and 75 car bombings.

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Both the local police and the politicians were under the influence of these crime organizations as

the author quotes an FBI agent as saying, “ the racketeers and the crooked politicians have no

other way to exist. It’s a simple question of economics”. The situation further deteriorated when

on September 19th, 1977 Campbell Works was closed and the next 5 years would result in the

shutting down of Brier Hills Works, Ohio and McDonald Steel Works and Youngstown Works.

This resulted in a loss of $1.3 billion in annual manufacturing wages and unemployment would

go up to 24.9% by 1983. Although September 1977 has been viewed as the point of

deindustrialization in Youngstown, the decline had started two decades before, with massive

change in the economics, technology, and the scale of steel production. This made it necessary to

move the facility near a port to reduce transportation cost. With this shift in trend US Steel

investors saw no further benefit in further investing in Youngstown and started to disinvest.

Despite worker pleas the mill was driven to decay and workers were forced to as the author

states “cannibalize” parts of the industry to keep other parts functioning. The increase in the

number of breakdowns and the resulting drop in productivity provided the company with the

excuse to close the mill.

In response to this development local churches which served as the focal points for the various

ethnic communities and militant groups began to mobilize. A coalition was formed by labor and

church leaders with the assistance of Attorney Lynd and Alperovitz, this coalition would

establish local research networks and carry out community support and most importantly

engaged in direct action that resulted in them occupying the Youngstown Sheet and Tube

administrative buildings.

Despite the efforts made, the effect on the people of Youngstown working in the mills was

devastating. Many were forced to retire early, some attempted to start their own businesses, still
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several were left completely unemployed, some were fortunate enough to find employment

elsewhere. The overall unemployment dropped to 12% throughout the 80s. Even for those who

found new jobs, the pay was still lower, and several people gave up on finding new jobs, this

caused the bankruptcy claims to go up to 2000 between 1979 and 1980. The real estate suffered

as houses were left abandoned as many could no longer afford a mortgage. An increase in arson

was observed throughout the 80s, leaving the city in ruins. There was a surge in cases of

depression, drug abuse, domestic violence and suicide and the local asylum saw a large influx of

patients.

The city of Detroit in the state of Michigan has in recent decades undergone a major decline in

both industry and demographic. The city was an important manufacturing hub before

automobiles and after their advent large plants were setup in and around the city which attracted

copious quantities of unskilled diverse labor to it. In an America where centralization was the top

priority Motor town flourished and provided many jobs that were especially receptable to low

skilled workers. However, these industries were disproportionately centralized in the north and

in the changing landscape spurred by government subsidies or by market considerations opened

new lucrative markets and economic centers in the south. The bettering of the infrastructure

especially highways in the post war era led to much less need of centralization and hence many a

process of deindustrializing and decentralization began to better serve the needs of this shifting

landscape. Much of these changes were also reactionary to the rise of union power. These

policies were much more general trends and specifically an often-cited reason for the major auto

companies’ lack of expansion was lack of usable land. However, these decisions to relocate

operations should be taken in context of the era and the trade unions.
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Another important consideration is that of automation. Machines cannot form unions and do

tasks endlessly and with no flaws each time. Automation was a major weapon in the arsenal of

employers and was used as a threat. Though in the beginning upon their introduction their effects

were downplayed and formed closely guarded secrets, it can now be seen that they resulted in

massive job cuts in some places up to 86%. Access to automation was costly and hence due to

the simple economics those who could afford it got major bumps in market share. Automation

also led to vertical integration of processes and as such many suppliers suffered majorly and

closed down adding to the increased job loss.

Union power was such a major factor and an impetus for deindustrialization that its influence can

be seen in popular works of the time such as Anthony Burgess’ 1985 where he describes a

dystopian riddled with unions. Property taxes were also higher in Michigan than in other states.

There were also other factors such as government funding of defense contracts to other regions

and the use of overtime by employers to limit worker numbers and curb union powers and were

massive in loss of jobs and job opportunities. In between 1948 to 1967 Detroit lost a total of

130,000 jobs. The forces of automation, decentralization, and relocation in the “golden age of

capitalism” wrecked many lives and disproportionately ruined many black lives. Detroit’s

landscape was dominated by rotting abandoned buildings, older houses were empty surrounded

by vacant empty lots. Over 9.9 million square feet of industrial space was abandoned. The

MESC office was a desolate wreck. Home ownership was made more riskier especially for black

people. Unemployment rates rose to over 7% with 20 % for blacks.

Despite propaganda and McCarthyism, the local 600s saw the impending doom and reacted.

They walked out and conducted strikes lasting many days. As the future became clearer and

clearer many workers joined their brethren and extended their battle from the shop floor to city
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hall and to federal courtrooms. The local 600 engaged in skirmishes with ford who moved their

equipment in secret essentially relocating the factory. Their resistance was based on the basic

right to work, a right rooted in a New Deal notion of economic security, they offered a

systematic critique of the capital mobility which contrasted with the individualistic approach

taken by the pro-business media it was also in contrast to other mainstream unionists (UAW etc.)

who took a more centrist gradualist approach and whose status of national organization made

them immune to relocation. It was on this basis that the Local 600 brought forth a federal lawsuit

which was obviously dismissed. The lawsuit also addressed to protect workers against firings

and dismissals and increase corporate responsibility. The city in its cage of “free market” took to

attracting industries with lures of cleared land and tax breaks, however that didn’t work out so

well since it was piecemeal measure to solve a bigger problem.

Unions such as the NAACP sought to fight the inequality and due to its lower member count

turned to legislative recourses and got passed the fair employment bill. The DUL offered job

counselling but later shifted to job development so that black people could be placed in high

visibility jobs lessening the general stigma against them. However, these were not really directed

to solving the deindustrialization problem but rather managing its aftermath. Similarly, the FEB

could also not help since it did not address the existing structure.

Both the cities had different industries and as such had varied reasons for deindustrialization.

Youngstown’s was motivated mainly by economics and Detroit’s was motivated by softening

union power. These were unprecedented times and in a neoliberalist era the response by activist

organization was varied and discordant Both these regions were deindustrialized in the golden

era of capitalism and they highlight the vices of free market and emphasize the importance of
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corporate responsibility. A non-regulated market owes nothing to its workers and as such is a

detriment to society overall.