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Access Type
WSU Access
Date of Award
January 2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Department
History
First Advisor
Elizabeth Faue
Abstract
Paternalism and welfare capitalism guided the management of the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company and many of the iron ore companies on Michigan’s Marquette Range. From 1855 through 1895 the iron producers struggled with economic challenges and labor disputes that prevented profit generation. Following an 1895 strike, Cleveland-Cliffs implemented welfare capitalist management philosophies to foster labor peace within the mines. These efforts were successful to a degree, enabling over fifty years of labor peace. This project explores the different elements of these programs and how they interacted with challenges and crises outside of company control including world wars, influenza epidemic, and economic downturns. At the core of this research is the system of dependence created by one company to maintain labor peace and prevent the outside unionization of a workforce, and how this dependence outlasted the iron industry itself complicating the future of the Marquette Range community.
Recommended Citation
Penn, Alexandrea, "Company-Centered Culture: Paternalism And Welfare Capitalism On The Marquette Iron Range" (2024). Wayne State University Dissertations. 4141.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/4141
