The article highlights Barney Oursler's work leading the Mon Valley Unemployed Committee, focused on aiding those affected by the decline of the steel industry in Pittsburgh. Oursler reflects on his experiences and the deep emotional impact of witnessing the region's shift from a thriving manufacturing hub to one grappling with unemployment. His organization has helped many navigate unemployment since 1983, revealing the ongoing struggles of communities once dependent on steel manufacturing during the economic downturn of the late 20th century.
"I worked in one of those," he says. "I met people over the 1970s and 1980s whose lives depended on those workplaces and who assumed that that was going to be their life."
Since 1983, the nonprofit has helped people across Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania navigate the unemployment system; in the process, Oursler and his staff have witnessed firsthand the region's shifting economic landscape.
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