Out of This Furnace

Out of This Furnace

by

Thomas Bell

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Out of This Furnace: Part 4, Chapter 11 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Following the collapse of the strike movement, union membership drops significantly throughout the steel towns. In October, Tighe reports that only about 5,000 workers are still paying their union dues. Behind those numbers lay “the plight of the men in the mills, stripped defenseless by the union's defection.” Inspired by the AFL promise for aid, some 400 rank-and-file delegates meet in February to discuss a new union campaign to try to gain recognition for the steelworkers. An enraged Tighe revokes their charters and demands that police protect the AA headquarters, claiming to have discovered “proof” that the delegates were hardcore Bolsheviks hatching a plot to destroy the AFL.
The combined resistance to the union from both the steel company and the AA has the desired effect of diminishing the union’s voluntary ranks. Moreover, Tighe continues to mirror the authoritarian behavior of the steel bosses by labeling the new union members “Bolsheviks,” a tactic right out of the steel company’s old anti-union playbook.
Themes
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Tighe’s behavior reaches noted labor organizer John L. Lewis, who considers the need to form a new federation. With the AFL’s abandonment and the Supreme Court’s decision that the NRA was unconstitutional, Dobie and Gralji realize that it is now every man for himself. They sit on Dobie’s porch discussing labor matters. “We can’t expect any protection from the union or the Government,” Dobie states, adding: “The union will be lucky if it don't have to go underground. And I need my job.” They digress briefly from union talk to admire the stunning view from the hill. “I wouldn't mind moving up around here somewhere myself,” Gralji says. Julie appears in the doorway and offers the two men coffee and cake.
The AFL’s abandonment of the new union marks the penultimate turning point in the novel’s struggle between capital and labor. With the old union no longer offering support, Dobie realizes that only direct, collective action from the steelworkers themselves can save the union. Bell marks Dobie and Gralji’s newfound determination with the imagery of them staring off into the beautiful scenery from atop the hill. As the two steelworkers look down on Braddock, Bell indicates that only their own fear is blocking them from taking control of the steel town that for so long has controlled them. 
Themes
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Capital vs. Labor Theme Icon
Soon Dobie and Gralji get back to discussing the future of the union. They agree that they really have no choice but to resume their organizing attempts. “The men know us. And there's still plenty of good union men in that mill even if they have stopped paying their dues,” Dobie reasons. He believes they can win a union election if given the chance. Gralji claims that Dobie’s plan is “one of the God-damnedest things ever heard of,” especially if it succeeds. Dobie thinks that with the help of Burke, Hagerty, and others, they can take over the ERP’s Pittsburgh district and throw Flack out of his job. Dobie even thinks their momentum could spread and lead to the takeover of other ERPs in Gary, Youngstown, Birmingham, and other steel towns.
Dobie and Gralji’s plan to take over the ERP from within is a symbolic moment in which the steelworkers finally realize that only they can bring about their own liberation. Central to their plan is the power of collective action to spur a domino effect through the major steel towns. Only by collectively taking control of the institution that thwarts their dreams (in this case, the company represented by the ERP) can the steelworkers fully realize the American Dream for themselves.
Themes
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Capital vs. Labor Theme Icon
Dobie and Gralji decide that if the plan is to succeed, they must stick to bread-and-butter-issues to win the support of the steelworkers. Forget bowling leagues and additional toilets, Dobie says: “Keep hammering away for raises and vacations and no favoritism on turns. Act as though the ERP was an honest-to-God union. Make a stink every time a foreman looks at a man cross-eyed. And never let up.” As long as the Amalgamated is in such poor condition, the ERP really is the workers’ only chance at a union takeover. Burke, Gralji, and Dobie approach Hagerty, whose seniority rests on his past allegiance to the company, and ask if he will be on their side as they run for union elections. To their surprise, Hagerty agrees to help them in any way he can.
Here, Dobie and Gralji decide to use the company’s own tactics against it by refusing to acknowledge their opponents’ demands. Just as the company has successfully thwarted the union by refusing to recognize its existence, Dobie and Gralji plan to fight back by refusing to acknowledge that the ERP is a company union and instead treat it as a real union. That they are able to enlist Hagerty, a man who owes his seniority to the company, to their side suggests that their plan has the potential to break down old barriers to success.
Themes
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When the three leading officers of the union announce that they are running for election as Employee Representatives, they create a sensation. They flood the mill with campaign cards until Flack informs them that such cards are against company rules. Having already run out of their supply, they gladly honor his demand. All of the candidates are nominated, and a week later, they are all elected. In the wake of the election, Flack gives a speech urging the newly elected members to not let their past opinions “interfere with [their] obligations as Employee Representatives.”
Dobie and Gralji’s plan to take over the ERP from within is a success. However, Flack’s bureaucratic call for civility from the new employee representatives suggests that the company still has ways to suppress legitimate union activity.
Themes
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When Hagerty calls for announcements, Burke lays out the union’s demands. They include “a twenty per cent wage increase, vacations with pay, cancellation of food box debts and […] an Employee Representative on the board of the United States Steel Corporation.” The meeting then adjourns as the new leaders appoint a committee to go see Flack. An enraged Flack throws the men out of his office.
Flack’s rage-fueled reaction to the union’s specific demands for higher wages, time off, and representation on the steel company’s board underscores the depth of hatred that capital has for the very idea of organized labor. The notion that workers should have a say in their own working conditions is among the novel’s most important points, because those in power in America believe that notion to be absurd.   
Themes
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Capital vs. Labor Theme Icon