Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-09-04
STEEL PLANT SILENT
Sporrows Point Feels Strikes Bite
By CHARLES d. PIERCE
Star stan Writer


BALTIMORE, Sept. 4.-The
strike at the gigantic steel plant
near here which started out as
a gentle economic pinch. has
developed now into a painful
bite for thousands of families
in this area.
They are caught in q steadily
contracting wise between con-
tinuing personal expenses and
no income as the result Of the
shutdown at the Bethlehem
Steel Co.'s Sparrows Point
plant, the biggest private en-
ployer in Maryland.
The seven-week-old strike
has affected not only the mem
bers of the United Steelwork-
ers Union, AFL-CIO. and their
families but also the hundreds
of merchants who supply
their needs.
While the economic showdown
lis concentrated mainly in the
Baltimore area, 1t is spreading
in gradually widening circles
to other sections of Maryland.
Some stores in communities
surrounding the Sparrows
Point plant IL miles from Bal
timore report that their sales
are off as much as so per cent
because of the strike.
An estimated 10000 workers
in the Baltimore steel industry
are now out of work. OF this
total, 26.400 were employed by
the Sparrows Point plant.
The monthly payroll for the
striking workers at this plant
alone was SAB million.
Here's the picture:
The gigantic plant where
once blast furnaces roared,
machinery rumbled and tower
ing stacks belched smoke is now
cloaked in silence.
1000 at Work
Almost deserted are the vast
parking lots where thousands
of employees left their cars " hen
they reported to work.
Although nearly 1000 SUPER
visory, Office and maintenance
personnel are still working at
the installation. they are
swallowed UP in the 600 build
ings on the 4.000-acre company
site on the Patapsco River near
where it flows into Chesapeake
Bay.
Groups of pickets are clust-
cred at the plant gates, but
against the background of the
towering industrial complex
they appear less than life size.
The one almost universal
reaction among the strikers
interviewed was:
1--WE never thought it would |
last this long"
The shutdown has had a
varying effect on the union |
members.
Some were evidently well |
prepared and are not suffering
seriously. Others have sue
ceeded in getting scarce jobs
outside or have a working wife
who can carry the load for
a while.
Some Exhaust Savings
But there are many, particu-
larry those who were laid off
during the recession. who are
really feeling the squeeze. They
have cashed in their United
States bonds and insurance
policies and exhausted their
savings. Now they are trying to
borrow money.
Dean K. Cloves, United
Steelworkers Union interna-
tional representative in charge
Of the strike at Sparrows Point,
said the union is supplying
weekly food baskets for the
families of all strikers willing
to do picket duty. He added
that the morale of the strikers
is good and we'll hold out
until we win"
A spokesman for the Bethle-
hem Steel Co. declined to COM
ment when asked how long the
company could afford to be
shut down.
Despite the precarious finan-
cial situation of many of the
strikers, there has been no vi
olence so far at the plant.
"It's very peaceful" said H.
E. Schultheis, police chief at