September 19, 1977, became known as "Black Monday" in Mahoning Valley history. The Campbell Works of Youngstown Sheet and Tube closed that day. Five thousand workers lost their jobs, and five thousand more jobs would be eliminated within three years.
Within a week of the closing of Campbell Works, religious leaders and community members met to discuss the economic and social future of the Mahoning Valley. Religious leaders from Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish faiths believed extensive job loss and a down-turned economy would cause many negative results including: marital problems, depression, and alcoholism. To discuss combating potential problems, a Steel Crisis Conference, open to religious leaders only, was held on October 28, 1977. The Ecumenical Coalition of the Mahoning Valley formed as a result of the conference.
The main initiative developed by the coalition was the possibility of opening a community/worker-owned operation at the Campbell Works. After this was declared possible by a feasibility study, the coalition promoted the grassroots Save Our Valley campaign in February 1978. A campaign staff was hired to promote and manage fundraising. The coalition encouraged local citizens and organizations to put money into a personal savings account. The money would be set aside for future stock in the community-owned company, when/if the company opened. By June 1978, the campaign went national and an Ecumenical Coalition office opened in New York. At that time, the amount contributed reached over $2 million.
From the beginning, the religious leaders contacted federal and state government officials. To reopen the steel mill, the coalition needed hundreds of millions of dollars. They hoped most of the funding would come from government grants. The National Center for Economic Alternatives (NCEA) assisted in developing a community/worker corporation model.
However, the coalition’s community/worker-owned company never materialized. During March 1979, the plan for reopening Campbell Works was rejected. The Economic Development Administration, citing multiple flaws in the proposal, could not provide the millions of dollars needed. On April 5, 1979, the Ecumenical Coalition decided to close the campaign office and not pursue the Campbell Works project any further.
The original provenance of this collection is unknown. It had been stored at the Maag Library since the 1980s and then transferred to the University Archives by Debra Beronja, Access Services Librarian, in 2004. As a result, the order imposed over most of the collection is artificial. Exceptions to this are the Save Our Valley file and the Save Our Valley press packet, which are in the Subject Files series. Original order was retained in these two files.
The collection is arranged by type of materials and then chronologically within each series. The collection contains a variety of records produced by or of interest to the Ecumenical Coalition of the Mahoning Valley. The files directly relating to the coalition and its internal workings are: articles of incorporation, meeting minutes and agendas, legal, and financial documents. The correspondence series contains copies of letters to and from state and federal agencies, including the White House and Ohio Governor James Rhodes. Personal statements and membership lists provide insight into the people involved in the coalition. Press releases and printed materials reflect the local and national concern over the closing of the steel mills in Youngstown. Although this collection is not complete, it provides information about the social impact and religious response to the steel mill closing in the Mahoning Valley. Researchers should note that many of the documents are photocopies. Location of the originals is unknown.
Series Description Series I: Articles of Incorporation Series II: Meeting Minutes & Agendas Series III: Correspondence Series IV: Press Releases Series V: Reports Series VI: Financial Documents Series VII: Legal Documents Series VIII: Membership Lists Series IX: Printed Materials Series X: Personal Statements Series XI: Maps Series XII: Subject Files
Ecumenical Coalition of the Mahoning Valley Records, Archives & Special Collections, William F. Maag, Jr. Library, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Click