Portrait of a Steelworker

Year Published: 1981

Complete Record: Takes viewers inside a Pennsylvania steel mill, where Gerland Smith, like his fellow workers, performs a specialized task in the production process. Before the ingots are poured, scrap metal must be unloaded, melted into iron in one furnace, then transferred in huge ladles to another furnace. Viewers will also come to appreciate what it means to be a steelworker-to punch in before sunrise on the day shift; to work with huge machines and molten metal; and to relax with friends at a bowling alley and with family members while watching a Sunday football game.