Out of This Furnace, by Thomas Bell, although fiction, depicts actual people, who were working in the steel mills of Pennsylvania, in the early nineteen hundred’s. These immigrants who worked within the mills, were mostly men, “a good half were Slovaks or other non-English-speaking foreigners, and of that half not one had a skilled job” (Bell 119 Kindle version). Many of these men had come to the United States to find work, and hopefully have their families join them once they got established. They had high expectations of making a better life for themselves and their families.
Although working in steel mills, is very dangerous, working within the conditions that existed was even worse. The working conditions, which were poor at best, often took the lives of its unskilled workers. They worked for pennies and for long hours with no compensation, other than having work and they were not guaranteed a permanent job. Explosions were common and many lost their lives, often being “baked alive” (Bell 141 Kindle version). Compensation for a death was often as low as seventy-five dollars, which often left the surviving family struggling to survive. Work demand was up and down too. Slowed work meant that workers …show more content…
But it never could face big business and things never really improved. It wasn’t until the Great Depression hit did unions have some pull. In Bell’s story, Out of This Furnace, Dobie finally stands up against big brother and demands support for the Amalgamated Association, and to sign a contract covering wages, hours, vacations with pay, and seniority” (319). He knew that this move may very well cost him his job, but the fight was more important. Something needed to be done for the well-being of the workers, even if it took the intervention of the