Andrew Carnegie's War with his Workers
About this episode
The episode explores Andrew Carnegie's conflict with his workers at the Homestead steel plant and the violent struggle against the unions.
In the first of two shows about the fight between the richest man and the unions at his Homestead steel plant - we look at why Andrew Carnegie decided that his workforce deserved a smaller share of his profits and the lengths he went to to cut their wages. Carnegie grew up in poverty and publicly proclaimed that rich moguls such as he had a duty to aid the poor - but that didn't stop him using every weapon at his disposal to crush the steel workers' union. The fight got violent - very violent - and its ripples are still being felt to this day. Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Topics covered
- labor unions
- steel industry
- wage cuts
- violence
- wealth inequality
Keywords
- Andrew Carnegie
- Homestead strike
- labor conflict
- steel workers
- wage reduction
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Homestead steel plant, Pushkin Industries
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