When it comes to steel, George de Bolt says understanding
the past is now more important than ever.
Yeah, if I don't tell the story,
nobody is. Debold's grandfather participated in the 1892 Homestead strike,
where a labor dispute ended in a deadly battle.
This is sacred ground. They were fighting for their jobs.
You know, they'd work very hard to build this plant
up.
Those jobs are again at risk today.
Steel was once among the country's most lucrative industries.
But today it's just a small fraction of the American
economy,
so much so that it's on the cusp of being
bought by Japanese steelmaker.
Nippon Steel Corporation The sale comes at a time of
renewed political support for building America's manufacturing sector.
And in the middle of a presidential election,
President Joe Biden is vowing to block it.
And it should remain a totally American company.
So was former President Donald Trump.
We saved the steel industry.
Now US Steel is being bought by Japan.
So terrible shareholders approved the sale,
and Nippon says it will invest in existing plants and
protect jobs.
Change is difficult to begin with,
but you add to that,
there's great fear that we're going to lose what we
have.
So that's that reticence as long as.
Job stay here, the manufacturing stays here and there is
a possibility of growth and responsible growth.
I think it's a wonderful thing.
Barrow's family immigrated to the Pittsburgh area from Romania in
1905 as the economics of steel were drawing many to
move to the region.
The expectations are from people that maybe someday you can
bring it back.
It's not going to exist that way,
but I still think there's a bright future here as
long as it's done responsibly.
They're off, and Debold continue to tell the story of
steel through tours of old factories and city landmarks.
They say sharing the industry's past helps propel the region
into its future.
If you tear everything down and take it all away,
you're taking away our ability as a region to use
our history to help not just define the past,
but to define the future and the present.