Homestead Strike of 1892
Carnegie’s view of labor relations and his friendless towards labor unions shattered in front of his eyes in the summer of 1892. According to historian Les Standiford in his book Meet You in Hell, Carnegie was in the middle of contract negotiations in April of 1892, just before he headed off for a summer holiday in Scotland leaving Henry Frick behind as the man in charge 1 . These negations were surrounding the merging of multiple steel mills in the Pittsburgh area, and Carnegie’s desire to make the workers non-union after their contract expired with Carnegie Steel- Carnegie didn’t this new contract as hostile towards labor unions, but simply stating that “ a firm can’t run Union and Non-Union together, it must run one or the other”2 . Regardless of the motives behind Carnegie’s labor contracts at Homestead mill, he knew that relations would be “hot” over the contract in the summer months, but he trusted the judgment of Henry Frick and trusted him to draft up pay increase for workers presented to superintendents at the Homestead mill 3 .
While Carnegie was away on his holiday vacation in Scotland, tempers were starting to rise in the town of Homestead Pennsylvania, the town could feel the pressure over the labor negotiations and knew that the entire situation was a powder keg waiting for a spark. In May, Henry Frick constructed a barbed wire fence surrounding the 600-acre grounds of Homestead, these fences were viewed by the citizens of Homestead as “fort Frick” because of how militaristic the structure looked 4 . It was very obvious that tempers were starting to flare in the town of Homestead, Frick was even mentioning to investors that they should expect a slow-down in the delivery of steel (most likely alluding to a workers dispute at Homestead 5 . The pressure that was building up all summer eventually came to a head on the morning of July the 6th, when Pinkerton detective forces hired by Carnegie Steel were brought in to subdue the workers of Homestead that were angry about union treatment and the shuttering of Homestead mill 6 . When the Pinkerton forces arrived on the river by boat, they were met with immediate resistance from the workers of Homestead, feeling threated the Pinkertons stated they weren’t ruling out the possibility of blood-shed as an option to stop the workers from preventing them from doing their job 7 . Eventually, the negotiating came to an end, the workers saw the amount of forces they were up against and knew that blood would be shed in Homestead Pennsylvania, shooting broke out amongst the workers and Pinkerton forces ( no one is sure who shot first) multiple workers died along with Pinkerton casualties as well 8 . After all the bloodshed that happened, eventually a worker put up a white handkerchief ending the violence at Homestead9 .
The reactions to Homestead by the workers of the Amalgamated Ironworkers Association were sharp and critical of Carnegie and the steel empire he had built. In an article in the American Illustrated July 16th, 1892 (ten days after Homestead) their anger was expressed, the article mentions the Pinkerton forces as being the “hirelings of Andrew Carnegie” and criticized Carnegie’s plan to not hire union workers at Homestead 10 Additionally, the workers had an issue with the violent nature of the Pinkerton forces who gave them an ultimatum saying “don’t land or we’ll brain you” , these workers didn’t seek violence but the circumstances surrounding Homestead gave them no other alternative 11.
This strike regardless of the unforeseen violent outcome, was worth it to the union workers. As they viewed themselves as having important knowledge when it came to steelmaking, in an article in the Olympia Tribune, the Amalgamated Ironworkers Association stood firm and stated they didn’t believe that Carnegie could replace the union skilled workers with non-union workers 12; they only needed to stand firm on their “right” to organize. However, later in the article a foreman for Homestead states that he has over two hundred applicants who aren’t union members and are skilled steel workers 13.
The effect of the Homestead strike of 1892 on Carnegie’s legacy is noticeable and clear, Carnegie’s own work The Gospel of Wealth promotes his plan for how the upper-class of Americans should act towards those who are less fortunate. In the example of the Homestead strike of 1892, Carnegie shows a more nefarious side of his public image, someone who isn’t fond of organized labor and only a supporter of unions when they make him money. Carnegie’s workers see this act as the fault of Carnegie even though he wasn’t in the country when the Homestead strike happened, this shows that the pro-worker side of Carnegie was a possible façade. Carnegie, who had written many article proclaiming himself as pro labor and a friend of the “working man” ( as seen in the exhibit labor relations), showed the lengths that he would take to protect his finical interests; even if that means being a backstabber to those he said he would protect.
1Staniford, Les. Meet You in Hell Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Transformed America. Paw Prints, 2010 pg.118
2 Staniford, Les. Meet You in Hell Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Transformed America. Paw Prints, 2010 pg. 121
3 Staniford, Les. Meet You in Hell Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Transformed America. Paw Prints, 2010 pg. 119
4 Staniford, Les. Meet You in Hell Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Transformed America. Paw Prints, 2010 pg. 130
5 Staniford, Les. Meet You in Hell Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Transformed America. Paw Prints, 2010 pg. 157
6 Staniford, Les. Meet You in Hell Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Transformed America. Paw Prints, 2010 pg.126
7 Staniford, Les. Meet You in Hell Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Transformed America. Paw Prints, 2010 pg. 168- 170
8 Staniford, Les. Meet You in Hell Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Transformed America. Paw Prints, 2010 pg.131
9 Staniford, Les. Meet You in Hell Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Transformed America. Paw Prints, 2010 pg. 174
10 The Incident of the Sixth of July, American Illustrated, July 16th, 1892
11 The Incident of the Sixth of July, American Illustrated, July 16th, 1892
12 Olympia tribune. [volume] (Olympia, Wash.), 02 Aug. 1892.
13 Olympia tribune. [volume] (Olympia, Wash.), 02 Aug. 1892.