Back in late 70's the Allegheny County Eagle Scouts Association was formed .
It was open to all Eagle scouts and they would hold luncheons down at the old Press Club that was in a down town Pittsburgh building along Wood street at 6th .Ironically the front of the building had a very large stained glass portrait of Steel worker myth and hero Joe Magerac .
We had some excellent guests who came and spoke at the luncheons which where not cheap but still affordable .Guests included . The head of the Pittsburgh FBI Branch The executive of the Beaver valley Nuclear power Plant who unfortunately lost his job and was prosecuted for theft of employee funds. and The Chancellor of Pitt University Wesley Possvar.
I got to greet and sit with some of the big names in Pittsburgh business who where also eagle scouts.
Then one afternoon the guest speaker was the chairmen of US Steel David Roderick.
Everyone was thrilled he accepted the invitation to speak but no one knew the horror he was to bring during it.
He started with the usual part how many employees ,plants etc.
Then he started talking about his journeys to the Nation of China
He described how staying at a hotel was like staying in one from Americas wild west days and how China was very willing to become the new power house when it came to manufacturing and that eventually all manufacturing would go overseas to third world country's and here in the united states we would be the brains and do the designing and research here to be shipped overseas and manufactured in china to then be sold across the world. The reason the mills where becoming obsolete and too expensive to maintain .The new way was the new mini mills with continuous casters like they where building overseas.
We all sat there kind of shocked I raised my hand and asked . What about people like my father and friends who are working in the mills now what will they then do for a living. He said they would be retrained to do high tech jobs . With that there was a laugh in the room everyone knew there was little chance of that happening maybe some of the younger workers could learn a new job but not older ones. I knew this was bad news.But everyone looked at me like how dare I even question this man and his plans . Mr. Roderick concluded his speech and myself Silver tip BSA Commissioner Bob Newcom and Curt M. a computer programmer who worked for a steel mill all talked as we left the luncheon saying this is terrible and its going to be scary times ahead all we could see was doom and gloom where we ever right.
We seemed to be the only one's effected by his words the rest all seemed to be right in lock step with Rodericks words and unfortunately for some in the room they would loose there business in bankruptcy because of the mills going down .
Yes my brother eagle scouts sat there and did nothing we had the whole plan laid out in front of us and for most part no one ever spoke of it. The organization broke up couple months after that and the press club closed a few years after that.
I tried to tell people what I heard and they all laughed and after that I said nothing no one wanted to believe what was going to happen then it did in 1981 was the death knell for the steel industry in Pittsburgh region over 120,000 jobs lost not only in steel mills but company's who supplied them and lunch counters which feed them and stores which clothed them and there family's.thousands of small business destroyed as well.
Thou the region has some what recovered with medical and technology jobs
The plentiful manufacturing jobs will never come back like they did where thousands worked in one plant. those days are over for ever and as study's have proven the lack of education in the US is very evident when knowledge wise we agree behind every other country in intelligence.
Yes the high tech jobs are here but the ability of people being able to fill them is the worst it has ever been since too man can not pass drug or criminal background checks etc.
and we have the highest level of unemployment since the depression.
Yes what happened in america in last 30 years was all planned out and laid out in the eagle luncheon all those years ago and you see the result.
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