BATTLE OF HOMESTEAD FOUNDATION MEMBERS KANE KARSTETER-MCKERNAN AND JOHN HAER PRESENT THE FOUNDATION’S MOBILE HISTORY EXHIBIT AT A HEINZ HISTORY CENTER EVENT. | PHOTO BY L.E. MCCULLOUGH

The most famous event in labor history occurred right here in Pittsburgh — the Battle of Homestead 132 years ago. The event is credited with changing views of labor and management forever and can be linked to current issues involving local unionization efforts in health care, retail, agriculture, industry and public service.

Many of these issues will be discussed by The Battle of Homestead Foundation, an educational nonprofit, at the 132-year anniversary commemoration on Saturday, July 6. The event will run from 2 to 5 p.m. at The Pump House, 880 E. Waterfront Drive in Munhall. Live music will feature the May Day Marching Band and the Pittsburgh Labor Choir. It is free and refreshments will be provided.

“The 1892 steel strike was a defining event in America’s ongoing struggle to ensure workplace rights,” said Battle of Homestead Foundation president John Haer, in a statement. “Observing the anniversary lets us reflect on the role of organized labor in fighting the extreme economic inequality endangering our nation in 2024.”

In July 1892, Carnegie Steel and the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel were involved in one of the deadliest labor conflicts in U.S. history. The strike began because the workers of Homestead Steel were unhappy with wage cuts. The strike left 12 people dead and hundreds injured. 

The union had a three-year contract with Andrew Carnegie, the majority shareholder of Carnegie Steel. When the contract came to an end, Henry Clay Frick, chairman and chief executive of Carnegie Steel, announced that there would be pay cuts. This caused almost 4,000 workers to strike. 

On July 6, 1892, 300 members of the Pinkerton security force, hired by Carnegie, arrived on barges along the Monongahela River to break up the strike. Both sides fired shots until the Pinkertons raised their white flag to surrender. The event was then named the “Battle of Homestead.”

Eventually, Homestead Steel was fully operating by mid-August 1892, and many workers returned by mid-October. In November, the union accepted defeat and the strike leaders were charged with murder but never convicted. Carnegie kept cutting wages, implemented a 12-hour work day and cut hundreds of jobs. 

Carnegie was called a hypocrite and a coward for allowing Frick to cut wages despite publicly supporting labor causes and the right to unionize. The strike resulted in negative public opinion toward the use of hired security like the Pinkertons during disputes and 26 states outlawed it in the following years. 

[Updated July 3, 2024: An incorrect photo caption was included in an earlier version.]