page_title: J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Company
section_title: U.S. Glass
hierarchical_section_title: J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Company / Decline / U.S. Glass
caption_attribution_description: English: An advertisement for glass made by United States Glass Company from page 5 of Glass and Pottery World, April 1896
context_page_description: J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Company was one of the largest and best known manufacturers of glass in the United States in the 19th century. Its products were distributed world-wide. The company is responsible for one of the greatest innovations in American glassmaking—an improved formula for lime glass that enabled American glass makers to produce high-quality glass at a lower cost. The firm also developed many of the talented glassmakers that started glass factories in Ohio and Indiana.
  The firm was first organized as Barnes and Hobbs in 1845 by James B. Barnes and John L. Hobbs. Both men held supervisory positions at the New England Glass Company in Massachusetts before starting their business venture. They came to a small community near the south side of Wheeling, Virginia, to begin their new glassmaking company. The firm was reorganized multiple times during the next half century, but members of the Hobbs family were always part of the ownership. The most famous iteration of the company was named J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Company. This version of the firm was organized in 1863 as a co-partnership between John L. Hobbs, son John H. Hobbs, and Charles W. Brockunier.
context_section_description: In 1891, a glass trust was formed in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  The new firm was named United States Glass Company, and John H. Hobbs was on the board of directors.  Initially, the Pittsburgh-based company consisted of 16 unionized glass works.   Each factory became known by a letter (e.g. Factory A of United States Glass Company).   Hobbs Glass Company became Factory H.  Within the next year, representatives of the trust evaluated the 16 glass works.  Factory H was thought to be old, have high expenses, and produce products that were costly to make.  In addition, the process for making many of Factory H's products could not be easily mechanized.
  The United States was in an economic recession at the time of the formation of the glass trust.  From management's point of view, United States Glass Company had been formed with the intention of making the unionized companies competitive with the non-union companies.  Two ways to make the plants more competitive were to get concessions from the unions and to introduce more machines.  From the point of view of the glass workers' union, United States Glass Company "took advantage of the hard times and slack business to get rid of the union."
  The reality of the situation was the U.S. Glass trust was formed to "oppose the union and to introduce the automated equipment."  The American Flint Glass Workers Union was naturally opposed to mechanization or concessions, and it was strong enough that a single glass works could not oppose it.  U.S. Glass built two large works (Gas City, Indiana and Glassport, Pennsylvania) that were highly automated—and could oppose unions at the other 16 plants.   During the summer of 1892, workers at Factory H were notified that after the summer shutdown, their jobs would be vacant.  Those that desired to work at the plant would need to apply to the new factory manager.  On October 12, 1893, the American Flint Glass Workers  began a strike.  Glass was not produced at Factory H, although inventory was still being sold.  In January 1894 U.S. Glass proposed that if the workers at its Wheeling plants would accept the terms of the labor agreements used in its Pittsburgh plants, work would start immediately.  If the conditions were not accepted, then Wheeling's two glass works (including Factory H) would be torn down.  The union rejected the proposed terms.  Members of the union remained on strike until 1897.  U.S. Glass survived by producing glass at its two large (and recently built) highly mechanized plants.
caption: Advertisement for glassware made by the United States Glass Company.
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