When the United States entered World War II, the steel industry experienced a void in its work force.
Women stepped up to fill the vacancies for the duration of the war.
The third annual Women's History Month program at the McKeesport Regional History and Heritage Center, “For the Duration,” was presented on Saturday by Dr. Elizabeth Jones, who compiled the oral histories of 30 women who served on the home front to help the war effort.
Ethel Erickson of the Department of Labor spent about four weeks in the Duquesne mill.
“She recognized it was a men's industry and was concerned how men would receive women,” Jones explained, noting there was another concern — how to get the women to leave once the war was over.
Leila Lucas, one of the women featured in the oral history project, said her husband worked in the Clairton mill and did not want her working there.
Instead, she and three of her friends applied and were hired in Duquesne.
Coping with less-than-accepting attitudes of male co-workers, which eventually eased, Jones said women faced other challenges in the mills. For instance, there were no women's bathrooms. They had to deal with the heat from the blast furnaces and the smell from the soak pits.
Initially, there was no advertising for people to fill vacancies. Instead foremen asked workers if they had a sister or aunt or someone else who wanted to work for the duration, Jones said.
Women who took the jobs did so for different reasons.
“They did it for patriotism — they wanted to contribute in some way to the war effort. They did it for money, for family and for companionship,” Jones said.
Many women in other jobs made $1 a day.
“In the mill, they were making 56 cents an hour or 40 to 50 dollars a week. That was a big jump from $7 a week,” Jones said.
When the war ended and the men returned, the women did not protest giving up their jobs.
“Many wanted to keep them but didn't,” Jones said. “They were either told upfront or signed papers that the job was for the duration.”
In many cases, she said, women personalized their job. Jones said one woman who replaced her brother, who had enlisted in the Navy, operated Joe's crane.
There was another reason, Jones said, why they willingly forfeited their jobs.
“World War II veterans came home as heroes and people thought they deserved to have their jobs back,” Jones said.
Audience members were invited to share their experiences or those of a family member who worked in the mill during that time.
Carol Waterloo Frazier is an editor for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-664-9161 ext. 1916, or cfrazier@tribweb.com.
