Women of Bethlehem Steel - Marlene Burkey

Annotation Marlene Burkey grew up in Hellertown, PA during the 1940s and 50s. One of her grandfather’s worked for Bethlehem Steel as did her second husband, Robert Burkey. In her forties, Marlene Burkey herself went to work as a laborer in the beam yards against the backdrop of the Women’s Liberation Movement and affirmative action. Burkey expresses that the Women’s Liberation Movement inspired her to seek employment with Bethlehem Steel as a laborer, a challenging, dangerous, and at times frightening experience that in turn led her to develop a greater sense of independence, in part because of her ability to earn a good wage and benefits. In her interview, Burkey describes the restrictive cultural atmosphere of the 1950s and the lack of educational and professional opportunities for women. She recounts the alternative lifestyle choices of her and her second husband Robert, both of whom identified with the counterculture of the 1960s. Although she reflects critically upon some of the ideas of Women’s Liberation, Burkey’s interview highlights the cultural and historical relevance of the movement, and her story illustrates the experiences of women laborers at Bethlehem Steel as they worked among men at what was considered a “man’s job.” This interview is part of a series of interviews conducted by Lehigh University and the Steelworkers’ Archives and supported by the Lehigh University Mellon Digital Humanities Initiative and the South Side Initiative. An oral history interview is an act of memory and hence both highly selective and highly subjective. While it accurately reflects what a narrator remembers (or chooses to tell) of his or her experience and viewpoints, it may not accurately represent what actually transpired or what another person may have experienced. As such users should subject interviews to the same degree of critical scrutiny they would any other historical source.