Pennsylvania’s Men of Steel Seek Pro-Union Candidate

Former Bethlehem Steel plant, the second largest steel manufacturer in the United States, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, April 22, 2016.

Retired steelworker Richard Check rests outside his home in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, April 22, 2016.

Richard Check labored for 43 years, five months, and 15 days as a rigger in eastern Pennsylvania’s Bethlehem Steel, formerly the second-largest steel corporation in the United States.

Lester Clore, a 33-year veteran of the Bethlehem Steel plant.

Jill Schennum, a cultural anthropologist, is a board member of Steelworkers Archives, a nonprofit organization that collects oral histories and provides educational outreach regarding the Bethlehem Steel plant.

View of Bethlehem Steel plant with Lehigh River and railroad tracks in foreground and South Mountain in background, Bethlehem, Pa., early 1900s.

Panoramic view of Bethlehem Steel plant looking across Lehigh River with South Mountain in background, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, early 1900s.

Table showing college men employed by the Bethlehem Steel Co., Nov. 24, 1906.

View of Bethlehem Steel plant with train engine and cars, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, sometime between 1907-1914.

View of the Bethlehem Steel plant offices, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, early 1900s.

View of the Bethlehem Steel plant across the Lehigh River, South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, sometime between 1907-1914.

View of the Bethlehem Steel plant buildings, Bethlehem, 1911.

View of Bethlehem Steel offices with pedestrians in foreground and plant in background, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, sometime between 1907-1914.

View of Bethlehem Steel plant with south Bethlehem in foreground, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, sometime between 1915-1930.

View of Bethlehem Steel plant from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, possibly 1929.