Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once home to the second-largest steel corporation in the United States before it shut its doors for good at the turn of the century. Ex-workers who remember Bethlehem in its manufacturing heyday say they worry about the future of workers’ rights and outsourcing of jobs; issues that could swing their vote, even across party lines.
Pennsylvania’s Men of Steel Seek Pro-Union Candidate
![Jill Schennum, a cultural anthropologist, is a board member of Steelworkers Archives, a nonprofit organization that collects oral histories and provides educational outreach regarding the Bethlehem Steel plant.](https://gdb.voanews.com/DB53D104-7BA0-4564-9D2E-0C7B1FCB3FC1_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
5
Jill Schennum, a cultural anthropologist, is a board member of Steelworkers Archives, a nonprofit organization that collects oral histories and provides educational outreach regarding the Bethlehem Steel plant.
![View of Bethlehem Steel plant with Lehigh River and railroad tracks in foreground and South Mountain in background, Bethlehem, Pa., early 1900s.](https://gdb.voanews.com/5A8D8127-839C-4A76-AEB4-82706D47013E_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
6
View of Bethlehem Steel plant with Lehigh River and railroad tracks in foreground and South Mountain in background, Bethlehem, Pa., early 1900s.
![Panoramic view of Bethlehem Steel plant looking across Lehigh River with South Mountain in background, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, early 1900s.](https://gdb.voanews.com/5230A646-1ECF-4AD5-A28F-5738F53D5A31_w1024_q10_s.png)
7
Panoramic view of Bethlehem Steel plant looking across Lehigh River with South Mountain in background, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, early 1900s.
![Table showing college men employed by the Bethlehem Steel Co., Nov. 24, 1906.](https://gdb.voanews.com/046FA4F2-4248-443E-8C39-280A3C765FBC_w1024_q10_s.png)
8
Table showing college men employed by the Bethlehem Steel Co., Nov. 24, 1906.