The Sociological Department at the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, 1901 to 1907: Scientific paternalism and industrial control

The Colorado Fuel and Iron Company's Sociological Department represented an industrial welfare plan based on an early understanding of applied sociology. The Department was created as a response to the demands of integrating coal and coke production with steel manufacturing, and the necessity of combating strikes among the immigrant workers. The “settlement house model” used by the Sociological Department was intended to foster labor stability by transforming the lifestyles and habits of the immigrant workers and their families. It is concluded that the industrial welfare programs that were intended to inspire loyalty to the company merely added to the workers' grievances with the company. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.