The hard-hearted Frick erected a three-mile, 12ft high barbed-wire fence around the mill to keep workers out. Three thousand union and non-union striking workers attempted to prevent anyone from going in. Frick hired a private militia Pinkerton's Army and a 14 hour gun battle ensued between labor and management. Pennsylvania state troops assisted Frick's army. 16 people were killed and dozens more wounded. Strike leaders were charged with murder and treason. Sympathetic jurors refused to convict them, but they were effectively blacklisted from the industry. Frick and the mill had won.
For Andrew Carnegie it was a hollow victory. When it was revealed that Carnegie was behind the union-busting, his pro-labor rep suffered greatly. He wrote of his regret:
"This is the trial of my life (death's hand excepted). Such a foolish step -- contrary to my ideals, repugnant to every feeling of my nature...the false step was made in trying to run the Homestead Works with new men. It is a test to which workingmen should not be subjected. It is expecting too much of poor men to stand by and see their work taken by others. . . The pain I suffer increases daily. The Works are not worth one drop of human blood. I wish they had sunk."
A New Era: 21st Century
The story of the Homestead Strike reminds us of what the working world was really like in pre-union days--a savage brutal and unjust world that left humbled workers starving and management fed and fat. Unions were -- and are -- a necessary product of our human social evolution. Workers clearly need a strong base of support to stand up to unyielding injustice. The gradual improvements over the 20th century reveal that our collective conscience evolved like Carnegie's own to incorporate basic human rights and dignity into working America.
A century after Andrew Carnegie's lifetime, America is experiencing a new work-crisis. Unions are increasingly "out;" entrepreneurs are "in," and the jobless numbers never cease to worry us.
In 2011, the enlightened employer understands that employees are essential "partners" as Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz calls his workforce. Whole Foods CEO John Mackey states, "It is important that owners and workers cooperate together to provide value for the customer." The end result: Employees at the best firms don't need a union; they are treated well without one.
But there exist employers in modern America who remain stuck in 19th century ways. Until they evolve with the rest us, unions and collective employee bargaining remain necessary to strike the balance between human dignity and inevitable disaster.
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