The article examines industrial archives and discusses how they can be used as sources for the voice of powerless iron workers in the Grande Région, or Greater Region which includes Luxembourg, Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany), Lorraine (France), and Belgium. The author discusses research focusing on social relations in the region's steel industry and among miners and how it can help better understand social change mechanisms based on individual experiences by anonymous, or less important, individuals. Topics include studies related to the labor movement, social dynamics, the notion of career, and collective action. A bibliography is included.