<P> Cyrus Eaton (1883--1979) in 1925 purchased the small Trumbull Steel Company of Warren, Ohio, for $18 million . In the late 1920s he purchased undervalued steel and rubber companies . In 1930, Eaton consolidated his steel holdings into the Republic Steel, based in Cleveland; it became the third - largest steel producer in the U.S., after US Steel and Bethlehem Steel . </P> <P> The American Federation of Labor (AFL) tried and failed to organize the steelworkers in 1919 . Although the strike gained widespread middle - class support because of its demand and the 12 - hour day, the strike failed and unionization was postponed until the late 1930s . The Mills ended the 12 - hour day in the early 1920s . </P> <P> The second surge of unionization came under the auspices of the militant CIO in the late 1930s, when it set up the Steel Workers Organizing Committee . The SWOC focused almost exclusively on the achievement of a signed contract, with "Little Steel" (the major producers except for US Steel). At the grassroots however, women of the steel auxiliaries, workers on the picket line, and middle - class liberals from across Chicago sought to transform the strike into something larger than a showdown over union recognition.In Chicago, the Little Steel Strike raised the possibility that steelworkers might embrace the' civic unionism' that animated the left - led unions of the era . The effort failed, and while the strike was won, the resulting powerful United Steelworkers of America union suppressed grassroots opinions . </P> <P> Integration was the watchword as the various processes were brought together by large corporations, from mining the iron ore to shipping the finished product to wholesalers . The typical steelworks was a giant operation, including blast furnaces, Bessemer converters, open - hearth furnaces, rolling mills, coke ovens and foundries, as well as supported transportation facilities . The largest ones were operated in the region from Chicago to St. Louis to Baltimore, Philadelphia and Buffalo . Smaller operations appeared in Birmingham, Alabama, and in California . </P>

Who gained control of much of the steel industry during the era of big business