Harold J. Ruttenberg was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and grew up in Greene County, Pennsylvania, where his father owned several general stores. During his undergraduate years at the University of Pittsburgh, he worked as an investigator for the United States Senate Special Committee Investigating the Munition Industry. He also worked for Professor Caroll Dougherty, a professor of economics, on material for Brookings Institution publications. This led to his activities with the Amalgamated Iron and Steel Workers Union and his opportunity, after graduation from the University of Pittsburgh in 1935, to work with the Steel Workers Organizing Committee which later became the United Steelworkers of America (USW). He soon assumed the post of Steel Union Research Director, the chief economist and director of research for the USW, and was early recognized as a leader in his field. During World War II, from 1942 to 1944, he was on leave from the union to serve as assistant director of the steel division of the War Production Board. He served in this full-time position at a dollar-a-year compensation level. Differences over policy issues led him to leave the union in 1946.
He then went, as vice president, to Portsmouth Steel Company in Ohio, where he began the second phase of his career, as a manager, implementing his ideas on the relationship between labor and management. He subsequently owned and was president and CEO of both Stardrill-Keystone Company in Beaver Falls and United Steel and Wire Company of Battle Creek, Michigan. In 1968, he became the president and CEO of Automatic Voting Machine Corporation, the name of which was changed in 1973 to American Locker Group, Inc., and retained those positions until his death in 1998. He wrote extensively from the time he began his career, expressing his views on issues of labor and management. In addition to his correspondence, he wrote books, articles, and editorials, and gave interviews and speeches. His career at all phases was covered by the press.
Harold J. Ruttenberg and his wife Katherine M. Ruttenberg had four children and lived in Pittsburgh. After the 1967 Israel-Arab War, for which Mr. Ruttenberg offered his services to the Israeli government, he became involved in high-technology manufacturing in Israel. The Ruttenbergs bought a home and lived there part-time from 1968 to 1993. The Ruttenbergs collected art and donated many pieces to museums and organizations here and in Israel.
Included are papers related to his tenure with each of the industries with which he was affiliated--Portsmouth Steel Corporation (1946-1949)--or owned, including Stardrill-Keystone (1951-1959), and United Steel and Wire Company (1964-1968) and American Locker Group (1968-1998). An interim period of travel and writing (1960-1961) and his work as a consultant with his firm Humanations Associates (1961-1964) are also documented. These papers contain correspondence, speeches, and newspaper and magazine articles about him.
His published writings, with the exception of his books which were separated to the printed collection, are sorted chronologically under Publications--articles. The related correspondence is sorted chronologically under Publications--correspondence. Correspondence pertaining primarily to his professional activities is integrated chronologically into the Career files. Private correspondence is sorted separately.
Although Mr. Ruttenberg's involvement with Israel and the Ruttenbergs' art collecting and philanthropy spanned years which coincided with the years of his career, materials related to Israel and art, respectively, are sorted separately.
Separate headings are given to art, Israel, his publications, and his career. The materials pertaining to his career are sorted chronologically and divided according to the years that he spent in various endeavors: his pre-labor years (1933-1944), his years with the steel workers (1934-1946), and his years as a manager.
The Harold J. Ruttenberg Papers are housed in one archival box and arranged alphabetically by folder title.
This collection is open for research.
These materials came in one accession in 1997.
Acc# 1999.0037 Gift of Katherine M. Ruttenberg
Papers of Harold J. Ruttenberg, 1934-1998, MSS# 298, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
This collection was processed by Susan M. Melnick on April 29, 1999.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Doug MacGregor on September 18, 2001.
Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.