CAMPBELL – Residents, historians and former steelworkers gathered Wednesday at the Campbell Administration Building across from the site of the former United Steelworkers of America Local 1418 Union Hall to mark the 35th anniversary of Monday, Sept. 19, 1977 – also known as “Black Monday,” the beginning of the end of Youngstown steel.
On that date, Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co., one of the largest steelmakers of its time, closed its doors without warning, shocking hundreds of families and workers.
Soon, more steel mills followed suit, devastating the northeast Ohio workforce and leaving a lasting scar that has become the “rust belt.” In the aftermath, over 40,000 were left jobless.
“We had the worst of the impact,” said Campbell Mayor William VanSuch. “The city lost $2 million in revenue.”
The event also was attended by students from Campbell High School’s government class and the OWE program, city officials, state Sen. Joe Schiavoni and Frank Sferra, former president of the steelworkers union.
The Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor, 151 W. Wood St. in downtown Youngstown, will have an exhibit this week to commemorate both Black Monday and the 75-year-old “Little Steel Strike” of 1937.
The exhibit will open at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 20.
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