The steel industry had a central role in building post WW II economic success in the U.S. and in defining the parameters of the post WW II social contract, as well as in deconstructing those. As American workers lost their jobs, as a result of these long term processes both preceding and contributing to the Great Recession, a new capitalism in which banks and the credit system took precedence over industrial production changed the lives of many American workers, including steelworkers. The book raises important questions about why workers and their unions were not able to successfully contest...

The steel industry had a central role in building post WW II economic success in the U.S. and in defining the parameters of the post WW II social contract, as well as in deconstructing those. As American workers lost their jobs, as a result of these long term processes both preceding and contributing to the Great Recession, a new capitalism in which banks and the credit system took precedence over industrial production changed the lives of many American workers, including steelworkers. The book raises important questions about why workers and their unions were not able to successfully contest...