View
7
Download
0
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
Strike at Homestead Mill – AFL-CIO
The1892HomesteadstrikeinPennsylvaniaandtheensuingbloodybattleinstigatedbythesteelplant'smanagementremainatransformationalmomentinU.S.history,leavingscarsthathaveneverfullyhealedafterfivegenerations.
TheskilledworkersatthesteelmillsinHomestead,sevenmilessoutheastofdowntownPittsburgh,weremembersoftheAmalgamatedAssociationofIronandSteelWorkerswhohadbargainedexceptionallygoodwagesandworkrules.Homestead'smanagement,withmillionaireAndrewCarnegieasowner,wasdeterminedtoloweritscostsofproductionbybreakingtheunion.
CarnegieSteelCo.wasmakingmassiveprofits—arecord$4.5millionjustbeforethe1892confrontation,whichledCarnegiehimselftoexclaim,"Wasthereeversuchabusiness!"Butheandhischairman,HenryFrick,werefuriousworkershadavoicewiththeunion."Themillshaveneverbeenabletoturnouttheproducttheyshould,owingtobeingheldbackbytheAmalgamatedmen,"FrickcomplainedtoCarnegie.
Evenmoregallingforthemwasthat,asPittsburghlaborhistorianCharlesMcCollesterlaterwroteinThePointofPittsburgh,"TheskilledproductionworkersatHomesteadenjoyedwagessignificantlyhigherthanatanyothermillinthecountry."
Somanagementacted.
First,astheunion'sthree-yearcontractwascomingtoanendin1892,thecompanydemandedwagecutsfor325employees,eventhoughtheworkershadalreadytakenlargepaycutsthreeyearsbefore.Duringthecontractnegotiations,managementdidn'tmakeproposalstonegotiate.Itissuedultimatumstotheunion.Thelocalnewspaperpointedoutthat"itwasnotsomuchaquestionofdisagreementastowages,butadesignuponlabororganization."
CarnegieandFrickmadelittleefforttohidewhattheyhadinmind.Theircompanyadvertisedwidelyforstrikebreakersandbuilta10-foot-highfencearoundtheplantthatwastoppedbybarbedwire.Managementwasdeterminedtoprovokeastrike.
Meanwhile,theworkersorganizedthetownonamilitarybasis.Theywere"establishingpicketsoneight-hourshifts,riverpatrolsandasignalingsystem,"accordingtoMcCollester.
Frickdidwhatplentyof19th-centurybusinessmendidwhentheywerebattlingunions.HehiredthePinkertonNationalDetectiveAgency,whichwasnotoriousforsuchactivitiesasinfiltratingitsagentsintounionsandbreakingstrikes-andwhichatitsheighthadalargerworkforcethantheentireU.S.Army.
WhenFrickplottedtosneakin300PinkertonagentsonriverbargesbeforedawnonJuly6,wordspreadacrosstownastheywerearrivingandthousandsofworkersandtheirfamiliesrushedtotherivertokeepthemout.Gunfirebrokeoutbetweenthemenonthebargeandtheworkersonland.Inthemayhemthatensued,thePinkertonssurrenderedandcameashore,wheretheywerebeatenandcursedbytheangryworkers.
AttheendofthebattlebetweenthePinkertonsandnearlytheentiretown,sevenworkersandthreePinkertonsweredead.Fourdayslater,8,500NationalGuardforcesweresentattherequestofFricktotakecontrolofthetownandsteelmill.Afterwinninghisvictories,Frickannounced,"UndernocircumstanceswillwehaveanyfurtherdealingwiththeAmalgamatedAssociationasanorganization.Thisisfinal."AndinNovember,theAmalgamatedAssociationcollapsed.
AccordingtolaborhistorianDavidBrody,inhishighlyacclaimedSteelworkersinAmerica:TheNonunionEra,thedailywagesofthehighlyskilledworkersatHomesteadshrunkbyone-fifthbetween1892and1907,whiletheirworkshiftsincreasedfromeighthoursto12hours.
Thatwasnottheonlymeasureofthesteelworkers'defeat.AsSidneyLenspointedoutinhisclassicTheLaborWars:FromtheMollyMaguirestotheSit-Downs,membershipintheAmalgamatedAssociationplummetedfrom24,000to10,000in1894anddownto8,000in1895.Meanwhile,theCarnegieSteelCo.'sprofitsrosetoastaggering$106millioninthenineyearsafterHomestead.Andfor26longyears—untilthelastmonthsofWorldWarIin1918—unionorganizingamongsteelworkerswascrushed.
Attheendofthe19thcentury,Homesteadinspiredasongwellknownaroundthecountry,"FatherWasKilledbythePinkertonMen."Thelyricsofthisdeeplyangryballadbegan:"'TwasinPennsylvaniatownnotverylongago,/Menstruckagainstreductionoftheirpay./Theirmillionaireemployerwithphilanthropicshow/Hadclosedtheworks'tillstarvedtheywouldobey./Theyfoughtforhomeandrighttolivewheretheyhadtoiledsolong,/Buterethesunhadset,somewerelaidlow."
Sources
Demarest,David(editor),TheRiverRanRed:Homestead1892.UniversityofPittsburghPress,1992.Krause,Paul,TheBattleforHomestead,1880-1892:Politics,Culture,andSteel.UniversityofPittsburghPress,1992.McCollester,Charles,ThePointofPittsburgh.BattleofHomesteadFoundation,2008.Brody,David,SteelworkersinAmerica:TheNonunionEra.Harper&Row,1969.Lens,Sidney,TheLaborWars:FromtheMollyMaguirestotheSit-Downs.HaymarketBooks,2008.
Recommended