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.