Out of This Furnace: Part 4, Chapter 11 Summary & Analysis

Following the collapse of the strike movement, union membership drops significantly throughout the steel towns. In October, Tighe reports that only about 5,000 workers are still paying their union dues. Behind those numbers lay “the plight of the men in the mills, stripped defenseless by the union's defection.” Inspired by the AFL promise for aid, some 400 rank-and-file delegates meet in February to discuss a new union campaign to try to gain recognition for the steelworkers. An enraged Tighe revokes their charters and demands that police protect the AA headquarters, claiming to have discovered “proof” that the delegates were hardcore Bolsheviks hatching a plot to destroy the AFL.

Tighe’s behavior reaches noted labor organizer John L. Lewis, who considers the need to form a new federation. With the AFL’s abandonment and the Supreme Court’s decision that the NRA was unconstitutional, Dobie and Gralji realize that it is now every man for himself. They sit on Dobie’s porch discussing labor matters. “We can’t expect any protection from the union or the Government,” Dobie states, adding: “The union will be lucky if it don't have to go underground. And I need my job.” They digress briefly from union talk to admire the stunning view from the hill. “I wouldn't mind moving up around here somewhere myself,” Gralji says. Julie appears in the doorway and offers the two men coffee and cake.

Soon Dobie and Gralji get back to discussing the future of the union. They agree that they really have no choice but to resume their organizing attempts. “The men know us. And there's still plenty of good union men in that mill even if they have stopped paying their dues,” Dobie reasons. He believes they can win a union election if given the chance. Gralji claims that Dobie’s plan is “one of the God-damnedest things ever heard of,” especially if it succeeds. Dobie thinks that with the help of Burke, Hagerty, and others, they can take over the ERP’s Pittsburgh district and throw Flack out of his job. Dobie even thinks their momentum could spread and lead to the takeover of other ERPs in Gary, Youngstown, Birmingham, and other steel towns.

Dobie and Gralji decide that if the plan is to succeed, they must stick to bread-and-butter-issues to win the support of the steelworkers. Forget bowling leagues and additional toilets, Dobie says: “Keep hammering away for raises and vacations and no favoritism on turns. Act as though the ERP was an honest-to-God union. Make a stink every time a foreman looks at a man cross-eyed. And never let up.” As long as the Amalgamated is in such poor condition, the ERP really is the workers’ only chance at a union takeover. Burke, Gralji, and Dobie approach Hagerty, whose seniority rests on his past allegiance to the company, and ask if he will be on their side as they run for union elections. To their surprise, Hagerty agrees to help them in any way he can.

When the three leading officers of the union announce that they are running for election as Employee Representatives, they create a sensation. They flood the mill with campaign cards until Flack informs them that such cards are against company rules. Having already run out of their supply, they gladly honor his demand. All of the candidates are nominated, and a week later, they are all elected. In the wake of the election, Flack gives a speech urging the newly elected members to not let their past opinions “interfere with [their] obligations as Employee Representatives.”

When Hagerty calls for announcements, Burke lays out the union’s demands. They include “a twenty per cent wage increase, vacations with pay, cancellation of food box debts and […] an Employee Representative on the board of the United States Steel Corporation.” The meeting then adjourns as the new leaders appoint a committee to go see Flack. An enraged Flack throws the men out of his office.