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Sons of Vulcan
The Sons of Vulcan was an American labor union which existed from 1858 until 1876. The union recruited puddlers, skilled craftsmen who manipulated pig iron to create steel. In the 1870s, it was the strongest union in the United States. It merged with two other iron and steel unions in 1876 to form the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers—the forerunner of the United Steelworkers.
Puddling is the process of stirring pig iron with iron bars, exposing it to the air so that the carbon in the pig iron is oxidized and burns off. This process creates steel. As practiced in the early and mid-19th century, puddling required great strength as well as skill. Because chemical testing of the molten iron had not yet been developed, puddlers relied on their long experience with steelmaking to determine whether too much or too little carbon had been oxidized. Puddling was also an extremely dangerous trade, as some steel processes required the molten metal to boil and bubble as the puddler stirred in scrap iron and puddlers were required to physically remove slag and drain pure steel out of furnaces for additional processing.
The first strike in the iron and steel industry in the United States took place among puddlers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from December 20, 1849, to May 12, 1850. The employers broke the strike by cutting wages and hiring new puddlers. Labor relations in the iron and steel industry remained tense for much of the next decade. Wages plunged during the Panic of 1857, and the steel industry was slow to recover.
On April 12, 1858, a group of puddlers met at a hotel bar on Diamond Street to form a labor union, which they called the "Iron City Forge of the Sons of Vulcan". The new union resolved to commit itself to craft unionism, accepting only puddlers as members. Miles Humphreys was the new union's "Grand Master" (leader), and offices were established for a vice president ("Grand Vulcan") and secretary. The new union did little for two years, fearing the blacklist. The union's national leadership received no pay, but this changed in 1866 when the three national officers were paid the average industry wage in exchange for devoting full-time to union business. Membership in the union was kept secret, for fear of labor spies and physical retaliation.
The Civil War led to a sharp increase in the demand for steel, and wages rose substantially. Employers were loath to fire puddlers during the war because so few replacement workers could be found. This led to renewed interest in the Sons of Vulcan, which expanded rapidly. The locals formed a national union in Pittsburgh on September 8, 1862, calling itself the "Grand Forge of the United States, United Sons of Vulcan".
A second annual convention was held in Wheeling in the newly formed state of West Virginia in 1862, at which a constitution and bylaws were adopted.
As it became apparent in June 1864 that the Civil War might be coming to a close, employers attempted to cut wages. The union responded with a nationwide strike of its members, which lasted eight months. The strike ended on February 13, 1865, when the employers agreed to a wage scale based on the price of iron bars—the first time employers recognized the union, the first union contract in the iron and steel industry, and what may be the first union contract of any kind in the United States.
At the union's convention in Buffalo, New York which opened August 7, 1865, Humphreys reported that "forges" (as local unions of the organization were called) had been established in Illinois, Kentucky, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, and the union's membership had tripled. The following year, the union began employing paid organizers across the East. The union had 36 active forges and 1,514 members in 1867.
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Sons of Vulcan
The Sons of Vulcan was an American labor union which existed from 1858 until 1876. The union recruited puddlers, skilled craftsmen who manipulated pig iron to create steel. In the 1870s, it was the strongest union in the United States. It merged with two other iron and steel unions in 1876 to form the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers—the forerunner of the United Steelworkers.
Puddling is the process of stirring pig iron with iron bars, exposing it to the air so that the carbon in the pig iron is oxidized and burns off. This process creates steel. As practiced in the early and mid-19th century, puddling required great strength as well as skill. Because chemical testing of the molten iron had not yet been developed, puddlers relied on their long experience with steelmaking to determine whether too much or too little carbon had been oxidized. Puddling was also an extremely dangerous trade, as some steel processes required the molten metal to boil and bubble as the puddler stirred in scrap iron and puddlers were required to physically remove slag and drain pure steel out of furnaces for additional processing.
The first strike in the iron and steel industry in the United States took place among puddlers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from December 20, 1849, to May 12, 1850. The employers broke the strike by cutting wages and hiring new puddlers. Labor relations in the iron and steel industry remained tense for much of the next decade. Wages plunged during the Panic of 1857, and the steel industry was slow to recover.
On April 12, 1858, a group of puddlers met at a hotel bar on Diamond Street to form a labor union, which they called the "Iron City Forge of the Sons of Vulcan". The new union resolved to commit itself to craft unionism, accepting only puddlers as members. Miles Humphreys was the new union's "Grand Master" (leader), and offices were established for a vice president ("Grand Vulcan") and secretary. The new union did little for two years, fearing the blacklist. The union's national leadership received no pay, but this changed in 1866 when the three national officers were paid the average industry wage in exchange for devoting full-time to union business. Membership in the union was kept secret, for fear of labor spies and physical retaliation.
The Civil War led to a sharp increase in the demand for steel, and wages rose substantially. Employers were loath to fire puddlers during the war because so few replacement workers could be found. This led to renewed interest in the Sons of Vulcan, which expanded rapidly. The locals formed a national union in Pittsburgh on September 8, 1862, calling itself the "Grand Forge of the United States, United Sons of Vulcan".
A second annual convention was held in Wheeling in the newly formed state of West Virginia in 1862, at which a constitution and bylaws were adopted.
As it became apparent in June 1864 that the Civil War might be coming to a close, employers attempted to cut wages. The union responded with a nationwide strike of its members, which lasted eight months. The strike ended on February 13, 1865, when the employers agreed to a wage scale based on the price of iron bars—the first time employers recognized the union, the first union contract in the iron and steel industry, and what may be the first union contract of any kind in the United States.
At the union's convention in Buffalo, New York which opened August 7, 1865, Humphreys reported that "forges" (as local unions of the organization were called) had been established in Illinois, Kentucky, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, and the union's membership had tripled. The following year, the union began employing paid organizers across the East. The union had 36 active forges and 1,514 members in 1867.