Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. used gigantic engines, which drove a total of four Chicago Pneumatic air compressors. The compressors were used to power the riveting tools integral to pre-World War II shipbuilding.
Part 3 — The Great War & Union Busting
Soon enough, however, the Great War, on which Schwab had gambled, was in full swing. As a […]

Charles Schwab, though ruthless with unions, wanted his employees to feel as if they were part of the team. He often did this by sponsering company baseball leagues, choir groups, and he invented an ingenuous new alternative to labor unions: Company Unions.
Part 2 — Schwab’s Gamble for War
Editor?s Note: This is Part Two in […]

By Jonathan Haeber

Union Iron Works, headed by Irving M. Scott, had become a major war contractor leading up to the Spanish American War and the occupation of Hawaii in the 1890s. Dogpatch was filled in with rock by the railroad companies and Pier 70 became Union Iron Works’ center of operations.
Part 1 — […]