Planning, Plant Closings and Public Policy (Ohio).

Abstract

On September 19, 1977, the Lykes Corporation announced the closing of the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Corporation. This layoff of 4,100 workers was one of the largest in American history. As the center of the Mahoning Valley steel communities, Youngstown, Ohio symbolizes the industrial transition of late twentieth century America. By 1980 several more steel mills were closed directly displacing almost 10,000 steelworkers. This dissertation analyzes the causes and consequences of the plant closings in this mono-industrial community. The implications of the closings upon workers and the community, as well as their responses to the shutdowns, are an essential core of this work. The framework of the analysis places the Mahoning Valley community in the context of the changing national and international political economy. The response of workers to the mill shutdowns is also placed in the broader context of other community struggles which occur simultaneously. In this way the analysis reflects a more comprehensive picture of the sociopolitical change which is stimulated in this valley. Linkages between finance and industrial capital, along with the impact of foreign competition upon the domestic steel industry, are also examined. Of central importance are a series of policy recommendations having both local and national implications. Policy issues discussed include: A structural readjustment fund, local community development approaches, advanced notification legislation, social service delivery approaches and industrial policy. The implications of the "law of the retarding lead" upon the United States' position in the world political economy is addressed as it relates to problems in the steel industry. The character of the structural transition occurring in America has precipitated long term unemployment in the Mahoning Valley with very severe human and social costs. While policy concerns are important in this study, it is about a human experience. This dissertation attempts to capture a sense of the community's fears, anger, frustration and resistance. Alternatives for Youngstown and other mono-industrial communities facing the plight of plant closings are also suggested.