The Homestead Strike
The Homestead Strike
The Homestead Strike has revealed the steel magnates different beliefs on the labor rights. The biggest conflict has been underway, the bitter fight is occurring at Andrew Carnegies steel plant in Homestead, Pennsylvania. The conflict at Homestead is arising at a time that the fast-changing American economy is having conflicts between labor and management. Recently laborers have taken part in strikes across the states.
Carnegies steel industry is not immune to the downturn. Recently, the price of rolled-steel products started to decline. Because of the depressed steel prices, Henry C. Frick, manager of the Homestead plant that Carnegie owned, cut wages in order to break the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers. They are one of the strongest craft unions in the country.
Carnegie is supporting Fricks plan. Carnegie has ordered Frick to produce as much armor plate as possible considering the unions contract expires at the end of June. If the union fails to accept these terms, Carnegie has instructed Frick to shutdown the plant and wait until the workers caved.
The end of June had quickly snuck up on the company, at this time Frick had begun closing down his armor-plate mills, locking out 1,100 men. Frick then announced he will no longer negotiate with the union; now he will only deal with workers separately.
“Far too many men are required by Amalgamated rules.” Carnegie stated. He believed workers would agree to relinquish their union to hold on to their jobs.
Even though only 750 of the 3,800 workers in Homestead belonged to the union, 3,000 of them met and voted to strike. Frick has responded by building a fence three miles long and 12 feet high around the steelworks plant, adding peepholes for rifles and topping it with barbed wire. The workers then decided to guard the plant that Frick had closed to keep them out.