AMERICANS AT WORK - STEEL WORKERS

Series: Americans at Work

Description: “Americans at Work - Steel Workers” was filmed at Kaiser Steel Mill in Fontana, California — home to the largest steel plant on the West Coast during World War II. The film highlights the contributions of steelworkers who shape the material integral to American infrastructure, defense, and industry. From the Golden Gate Bridge and towering skyscrapers to railroad tracks and food cans, steel’s versatility is illustrated through footage of its production, from molten ore to finished products. "Americans at Work" dates to 1959-1960. In 1958, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer, William F. Schnitzler, announced the production of 52 films to run weekly for one year. The popularity of the series persuaded the AFL-CIO to extend the project by an additional 52 films. The AFL-CIO Public Relations Department, primarily coordinated the production and distribution of the series. Production was contracted to Norwood Studios, Inc. of Washington, DC, which was founded and managed by Phillip M. Martin. 00:00 Film opens; Foundry workers at work (0:09). Structural ironworkers erect steel frameworks for buildings (0:40). What appears to be steel framing for the Federal Courthouse and U.S. Post Office Building in front of Los Angeles City Hall (c.1938) (0:46). Rail car train transporting steel pipes (0:53). Kaiser Steel-branded storage tanks (0:54). View of Golden Gate Bridge under construction (0:56). View of completed Golden Gate Bridge (1:00). Example of steel used to construct complex highway overpass (1:02). Atlas-B 10B (57-1783) on launching pad in front of steel gantry tower at test center at Cape Canaveral, Florida (c.1958) (1:04). Launch of Atlas-B 10B (57-1783) (1:07). Aerial view Kaiser Steel Mill Fontana, California, Jurupa Mountains in background (1:11). Carts of raw material (iron ore, coal) led into the mill (1:20). Rotary car dumper discharging ore at mill (1:23). Row of industrial coke furnaces called “batteries,” coal baked in airless kiln called a "coke furnace" or "coking oven” (1:40). Coke transfer car/ quench car collects molten coal (2:03). Kaiser Steel plant blast furnaces (2:09). Men at base of blast furnace, use picks and tools to guide pig iron from furnace (2:13). Man uses small ladle to collect samples of molten steel, send small molds to lab to test quality (2:44). Molten iron loaded into torpedo cars that will transport material along rails (3:05). Men feed open heart furnace with limestone, scrap steel, pig iron (3:21). Hundreds of tons of steel heated to 3,000 degrees flows from furnace into ladle; White hot, showing sparks illuminate frame (3:44). Steel slag floats to top of ladle, spilled into second ladle (4:00). Ladle crane man operator slowly moves bubbling cauldron of pure molten steel away from slag ladle (4:13). Ladle spills metal into basic oxygen furnace (4:32). Oxygen lancing process; Close-ups of operator in separate room using various levers, controls to facilitate furnace operations (4:51). Molten steel dramatically poured from oxygen furnace into another ladle below (5:17). Craneman maneuvers ladle of molten steel over ingot molds while men in hard hats on floor standby to cap them (6:03). Molds removed as ingot cools, rectangular-shaped molded steel revealed (6:32). Processes in the Blooming Mill: Molten steel ingots guided through series of rollers, compressed into various shapes; Operator sits in separate room and operates various levers to guide and shape ingot (6:47-8:09). Flat Bar / Flat Plate emerges from roller, narrator discusses link between steel industry and American shipyards and railroads (8:11). Camera follows flat bar as it continues through rolling mill for further shaping (8:39). Completed heated stainless steel sheet roll emerges from rollers (10:00). Workers feed steel sheet roll into another machine to form smaller squares, later used for tinned food products (10:11). Women’s role at mill: Quality control, inspect tin plates (11:14). Worker operates machinery while smoking cigarette, forms piping (11:36). Row of completed bicycles (12:45). Mural in AFL-CIO building in Washington with classic characteristics of mid-20th-century American labor art, popular circa 1920-1950. Film ends (13:36).

Complete Record: “Americans at Work - Steel Workers” was filmed at Kaiser Steel Mill in Fontana, California — home to the largest steel plant on the West Coast during World War II. The film highlights the contributions of steelworkers who shape the material integral to American infrastructure, defense, and industry. From the Golden Gate Bridge and towering skyscrapers to railroad tracks and food cans, steel’s versatility is illustrated through footage of its production, from molten ore to finished products. "Americans at Work" dates to 1959-1960. In 1958, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer, William F. Schnitzler, announced the production of 52 films to run weekly for one year. The popularity of the series persuaded the AFL-CIO to extend the project by an additional 52 films. The AFL-CIO Public Relations Department, primarily coordinated the production and distribution of the series. Production was contracted to Norwood Studios, Inc. of Washington, DC, which was founded and managed by Phillip M. Martin. 00:00 Film opens; Foundry workers at work (0:09). Structural ironworkers erect steel frameworks for buildings (0:40). What appears to be steel framing for the Federal Courthouse and U.S. Post Office Building in front of Los Angeles City Hall (c.1938) (0:46). Rail car train transporting steel pipes (0:53). Kaiser Steel-branded storage tanks (0:54). View of Golden Gate Bridge under construction (0:56). View of completed Golden Gate Bridge (1:00). Example of steel used to construct complex highway overpass (1:02). Atlas-B 10B (57-1783) on launching pad in front of steel gantry tower at test center at Cape Canaveral, Florida (c.1958) (1:04). Launch of Atlas-B 10B (57-1783) (1:07). Aerial view Kaiser Steel Mill Fontana, California, Jurupa Mountains in background (1:11). Carts of raw material (iron ore, coal) led into the mill (1:20). Rotary car dumper discharging ore at mill (1:23). Row of industrial coke furnaces called “batteries,” coal baked in airless kiln called a "coke furnace" or "coking oven” (1:40). Coke transfer car/ quench car collects molten coal (2:03). Kaiser Steel plant blast furnaces (2:09). Men at base of blast furnace, use picks and tools to guide pig iron from furnace (2:13). Man uses small ladle to collect samples of molten steel, send small molds to lab to test quality (2:44). Molten iron loaded into torpedo cars that will transport material along rails (3:05). Men feed open heart furnace with limestone, scrap steel, pig iron (3:21). Hundreds of tons of steel heated to 3,000 degrees flows from furnace into ladle; White hot, showing sparks illuminate frame (3:44). Steel slag floats to top of ladle, spilled into second ladle (4:00). Ladle crane man operator slowly moves bubbling cauldron of pure molten steel away from slag ladle (4:13). Ladle spills metal into basic oxygen furnace (4:32). Oxygen lancing process; Close-ups of operator in separate room using various levers, controls to facilitate furnace operations (4:51). Molten steel dramatically poured from oxygen furnace into another ladle below (5:17). Craneman maneuvers ladle of molten steel over ingot molds while men in hard hats on floor standby to cap them (6:03). Molds removed as ingot cools, rectangular-shaped molded steel revealed (6:32). Processes in the Blooming Mill: Molten steel ingots guided through series of rollers, compressed into various shapes; Operator sits in separate room and operates various levers to guide and shape ingot (6:47-8:09). Flat Bar / Flat Plate emerges from roller, narrator discusses link between steel industry and American shipyards and railroads (8:11). Camera follows flat bar as it continues through rolling mill for further shaping (8:39). Completed heated stainless steel sheet roll emerges from rollers (10:00). Workers feed steel sheet roll into another machine to form smaller squares, later used for tinned food products (10:11). Women’s role at mill: Quality control, inspect tin plates (11:14). Worker operates machinery while smoking cigarette, forms piping (11:36). Row of completed bicycles (12:45). Mural in AFL-CIO building in Washington with classic characteristics of mid-20th-century American labor art, popular circa 1920-1950. Film ends (13:36).

Transcription

Americans [Music] at work. Men whose strength is multiplied a thousand times in the product they build. Workers united to help strengthen our world. The United Steel Workers of America. This industrial age in which we live, this time of constant progress and growth is built on a foundation of steel. Steel for strength. Steel for living. Steel for storage. Steel to span the distances separating our boundaries. Steel for transportation. Steel to build the future. The roar of the blast furnace, the rumble of the steel mill are familiar sounds in many parts of America. From many places around the world come the raw materials for that flexible, useful and necessary product, steel. Iron ore, coke and limestone flow into the mills by the carload. [Music] Here at the coke ovens or at the furnaces, men carry on their work against white hot scenery in what to most of us would seem suffocating heat. The making of steel is a fascinating story. Fiery molten steel, dramatic and spectacular, provides a brilliant and colorful background. [Music] At the blast furnace, where the iron ore and limestone rest on a bed of hot coke, men stand ready to start the flow. In a matter of hours, in temperatures greater than the natural heat that created the ore far below the earth's crust, the elements have combined to produce pig iron. Now, a white hot river curls its way past the men who have made it. [Music] Even at this early stage, the men must know the quality of the steel they are making. Samples are taken for laboratory testing. [Music] into torpedo cars. The molten iron flows now to be transferred to the huge open hearth furnaces. They're to be transformed into steel. At the open hearth furnace, aided by men working nearby, an operator in a control tower pours in limestone, scrap steel, and pig iron. After almost 10 hours, the furnace is ready to yield its charge. [Music] Into the ladle flows hundreds of tons of steel, heated to 3,000°. White hot and showering sparks, the steel settles, pushing slag. Impurities removed from the ore to the surface, spilling it into a second ladle. [Music] Finally, the ladle craneman moves his bubbling cauldron away. [Music] The demand for raw steel and steel products is great and constant. Aiding the steel worker in supplying our needs are new methods. The oxygen furnace like the open hearth produces steel but much more quickly. The same mixture of lime, pig iron, and scrap steel is made. But then with the introduction of a lance at the mouth of the furnace, pure oxygen is added, creating a sudden reaction inside the furnace. The steel is refined in minutes instead of hours. Now there is more steel for more men to transform into the things on which our daily lives depend. [Music] [Music] Flexible, strong, durable. A description of the steel and the steel worker. In this very hazardous industry, the men work with equal vigor to make their product and stay alive. The craneman moves his ladle over rows of ingot molds while men on the floor stand by to cap them. Incredible as it may seem, the craneman has no difficulty pouring the steel at exactly the right spot. Nor do the workers below in controlling the flow. So polished is their skill that they work as surely as anyone else filling a coffee cup. When the ingots have cooled, the molds are removed and the blocks of steel carried to the soaking pits and reheated. Now the real story, the real adventure begins with the men who do things with steel. It is the steel worker trained and highly skilled who is responsible for the doing. In the blooming mill, steel ingots begin the shaping that will later turn them into the thousands of things of steel that surround us everywhere. As the ruffer and his assistants guide the blooms of steel through the rollers, making them longer and thinner, eventually giving them useful shapes, think of what their work and the work of the men they have followed has meant to our country. [Music] These men possessing equal amounts of physical strength and skill are able to move and measure, cut and shape tons of steel with only their hands and eyes to guide the powerful machines. Our [Music] country populated and built by people from many lands first was reached by sea. Today, the sea is still a main line of communication with the rest of the world. And our ships carry people and goods from continent to continent. In the shipyards that line our coasts, steel from America, steel workers build our merchant fleet and our navy. Where once oak and mahogany planks withtood the power of the seas, great plates of steel riveted and welded to form the graceful hulls now stand. But to the steel workers who make possible our queens of the sea. When our country was young and growing, it was the rails of steel that pointed the way westward that linked our land north and south, east and west. And behind those rails in the steel mills, there stand today as they did then. The steel workers whose job it is to make the rails and the wheels rolling over them. From the rolling mills come an endless variety of things, each as important to our growth and strength as the steel plate and the rails. [Music] [Applause] This product of man, this wonderful steel can be twisted, compressed, stretched, and formed until its only relationship to its origin is strength. From hair thin wire to the machinery in the mill, steel shares the workload of man. [Music] Feeding a nation as large and diversified as ours is a monumental task. Food from the farms must be preserved and then served to the people in the cities. What better way than in cans made of steel and plated with tin to provide fresh, wholesome foods. Here again, the steel worker is at your service. We are all consumers and those of us who live in the cities depend on the tin can to bring much of our sustenance from the food producers as we depend on the steel workers for the perfectly made safe containers. [Music] Before the development of the tin can, some foods were not always available away from the farm. Now with no city space for family gardens, housewives rely on canned goods. [Music] In our modern steel age, women are no strangers to the steel mill. Their exacting methods and eye for detail make them valuable in the production of flawless tin plate. [Music] All around us today in small towns and large cities, buildings designed to last many lifetimes are rising from the land. To support these structures, I-beams and channel bars reaching up like so many arms outstretched to support our progress. Where do they come from? From the earth, through the furnaces, through the girdermills, through the hands of the steel worker. to provide the lifelines for the buildings. Pipes of steel to carry water and fuel and power. Pipes pulled in endless streams, seamless, straight and perfectly round, or joined with an invisible weld, large pipes and small ones. The steel worker provides these two. [Applause] From the foundaries, the mills, tending the blast furnaces, making the things large and small with which we build, the United Steel Workers of America, AFL CIO, are strengthening our nation, transporting us and our products around the world, providing the foundations for the buildings in which we live and work. Bringing food to the cities. These are Americans at work for you. Americans at Work presented as a public service by the AFL CIO. [Music] Next week, another story of Americans at work. Americans whose skill and effort help keep our country great and strong. [Applause] [Music]

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