Their almost all gone the mysterious No name Stores and Lunch Counters that served the Mill and Factory Workers of Western Pa.

 They where the every day staple for those who worked in the mill and could often be found across the street from a Steel Mill or Factory Gate Like the store in picture below which served the Steel Workers going into the US Steel  Clairton Coke Works in Clairton Pa. along Pa 837

 

 Now closed and up for lease like this location . These stores  often run by old men  and retirees served as a place of comfort for workers where they could get a newspaper or magazine a cup of coffee, cigarettes play the lottery or get a bottle of aspirin or shoe laces  and confections .

Many had no name on them like this store and where basic holes in the wall not much bigger than 100 square feet in some cases  and the buildings very run down  some even had a slant to them .

Most now long gone and torn down . Some where small Lunch Counters and some had seating  like Gino's on Neville Island  where you could get a coffee and large piece of excellent lasagna served fast and cheap $5.00 for lunch .

 

But the old men who ran them since they where young got too old to run them and keep them up and shut them down  like in Gino's case but many more where lost in the 80s when many mills and factory's shut down  due to work going overseas and less demand for products and no more workers stopping by for their essentials.

 

There use to sit a small 100 square ft  Green Wooden  Building on left side of the entry tunnel as you went into J&L/ LTV in Alliquippa in above picture.

It was run by a man who was blind who could easily tell change when he made a sale but an occasional scum of a Steel Worker would rip him off and give him a dollar instead of a $20 dollar Bill 

So many story's and good times  of all these legendary locations.  But so little documentation.

There was the  Biggest Little Store on the North Side of Pittsburgh across from Miller Printing Equipment long gone along with Miller Printing.   also Bills Lunch along Lockhart lost when roadways where rebuilt .

Now when family member go looking pictures of these stores and restaurants there Grandparents worked at to reminisce and there is nothing to be found. 

I just wish I could have afforded a movie camera back in day when I worked as a Guard at so many of the places I guarded and stopped at for a cup of coffee  that are now long gone and nothing more than a memory.

If I find photos or articles on these places I will post them as I find them .

 

Coal and Iron Police , The Pinkerton's, and Baldwin Felts Detectives where they Villains , Heels and Dupes in the Labor Movement? or Heroes in protecting Capitalism and the American way of life ?.

 When you look at social media posts about history and anything involving  Coal and Iron inevitably  the words Coal and Iron Police , Pinkerton's and Baldwin Felts detective Agency come up in the reply s everyone s quick to say they have a relative who was a coal miner or steel worker but no one ever proudly says they had a relative who worked for Baldwin Felts  The Pinkerton or where an Coal and Iron Policeman .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_and_Iron_Police

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin%E2%80%93Felts_Detective_Agency

 https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=pinkertons

 

But when you look back at the American Labor Movement what you see is a long trail of Crime and Violence on Both sides Labor and Management.

Baldwin Detectives

Coal and Iron Police

But management always gets the bad rap when in fact it was  Labor itself brought about the development of organizations like the Coal And Iron Police, The Pinkerton's and The Baldwin Felts Detective Agency

The Problem: Some business owners are real pieces of shit and treat Employees like they are slaves.
Employer sets rules and regulations and cheap wages  cares less about safety.


 Labor thinks it does not have to follow rules and can do what ever it wants for the laborer and does thru intimidation and threats  to the business owner because everyone is against them including local government .In fact some unions like the Teamsters allowed organized crime into their organizations to point the mob now controls most construction in NYC .

  Management  then takes up the position correctly they have the right to protect their personnel property and this is where the problems start because neither wants to sit at the table and resolve the issues.

It plays out to this day rarely do you ever see a peaceful strike where no one or thing gets hurt.

Windows get broken, cars damaged etc etc. particularly any time its Coal, Steel Workers Involved. 

In the Anthracite Coal Region you had the Mollie Maguires  who caused chaos thru out the region. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_Maguires

So both sides where both wrong in what they where doing.

So the coal and iron owners started security forces or hired them to protect their property's and these 

security forces soon turned into small army's taking liberties with the towns citizens and often doing things with out the owners  knowledge or consent.  But in some cases owners did not want to know. 

Despite their sometimes harsh tactics they kept properties from being destroyed and when the strike was over miners and iron workers had a place to go back to work. not always under favorable conditions. 

I worked as an unarmed guard  for Burns International Detective Agency  and for CPP Security  California Plant Protection  and on 2 different occasions strikes developed where i was working.

When I was with Burns a nationwide Union Truckers Strike happened and of course I was watching 

a non union trucking company's terminal. LTL lyons Transportation Lines  which called all their drivers in and shut their terminal down during the strike they did not want their drivers hurt and in fact aa independent driver for a company was shot and killed by a sniper who was never caught .

Teamsters  put tire jacks on roads and hung pieces of wood low under bridge under passes to hurt drivers who stayed on the road. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1978/12/18/bloody-trucking-strike/32f926ba-3d54-4fca-8309-4d32df824e59/

I was walking the perimeter of our terminal when an independent driver pulled down the road and was stopped by picketers.I Immediately called the police. They arrived and  he agreed to pull over and parked his rig at LTL terminal  till strike was over. 

The strikers had already been warned once by Mckeesrocks police to not cause problems and where cool headed how they handed this driver who did not know there was a strike. 

LTL is no longer in business sat empty for over a decade and now Dayton Trucking occupy it. 

 

I was then working for CPP Security when Affordable Furniture plant went on strike in West Mifflin where the Target  store sits today.

The workers where peaceful but some threats where made  but right away they hire this company called Task Force owned by son of then current Green Tree Police chief .

They come loaded for bear with guns and K9 .

Luckily the strike was quickly settled and there was no problems . Task Force is no longer in business .

and Affordable Furniture was bought out in the late 80s. 

The one thing I learned about labor strikes ? NO ON WINS .

Your better off walking away and find a better job at a better company.