Steel and Identity: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Lorain, OH
Recruiting Mexicans to Make Steel
Many Mexican immigrants began emigrating to the United States in the 1920s, escaping political prosecution after the second Mexican Revolution which took over a million lives. During this decade sizable Mexican populations developed in the Mid-West due to the demand of work in the farm, steel, and railroad industries. The first Mexican families in Lorain arrived in approximately 1921. They were brought to Lorain by working on the B&O Railroad and decided to settle in Lorain to work at the steel mill. Due to the high demand of work after becoming the National Tube Company of U.S. Steel, by 1923 the mill supervisors sent recruiters to Mexico and by 1924 approximately 1300 Mexican men were brought to Lorain. The majority of these workers came from rural areas in Mexico. The base pay for these workers was $4.50 per 10/hour day.
Frank S. Mendez describes the geographic location of the mill and the diverse mix of workers: "The National Tube Company ran along the west and south banks of the Black River, from its mouth to the end of South Lorain, a distance of roughly five miles. Its heavy operations were located in South Lorain, separated by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad tracks from the rest of the city. South Lorain was 'across the tracks' figuratively as well, the least desirable 'real estate address' in Lorain. It was a polyglot of first and second generation immigrant families who, for the most part, depended directly or indirectly on the steel mill and its supporting industries for their livelihood. In many homes English was a second language, or at best a close tie with Hungarian, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Czech, Lithuanian, Slovak, Greek, Romanian, Croatian, Serbian, German, or Ukrainian." (18) What may have been the motivation to recruit workers of Mexican decent in the 1920s? Do you think living in South Lorain would have been easy or difficult for the newly arrived workers of Mexican decent and their families? Explain.
