Synopsis
By the 1980s, global competition had left the U.S. steel industry battered and for a steel town like Weirton, West Virginia, that created both a sense of desperation and some creative thinking. The NewsHour first visited the town in 1983 to report on moves by steel workers to buy their plant in hopes of keeping both the plant and the town alive. In subsequent visits, the NewsHour documented how their goals and strategies and the town itself evolved. Also included in this collection is a report from business correspondent Paul Solman on the effects of global trade as seen from inside the steel and textile industries.