Steel Strike of 1919

Steel Strike of 1919 The Steel Strike of 1919 was a major industrial labor action by workers in the American steel industry that sought recognition for collective bargaining, improved wages, and safer conditions. The strike linked labor organizations, immigrant communities, and wartime labor dynamics, and intersected with contemporary events such as the First Red Scare, the Boston Police Strike, and post-World War I social unrest.

Background

By 1919 the United States steel industry concentrated around centers like Pittsburgh, Youngstown, Ohio, Gary, Indiana, Chicago, and Buffalo, New York. The industry was dominated by corporations including United States Steel Corporation, Bethlehem Steel, Carnegie Steel Company, and Republic Steel Corporation. Wartime production under agencies like the War Industries Board and labor mobilization through the National War Labor Board had altered labor relations, while returning veterans and inflation contributed to tension. Labor organizations active in the period included the American Federation of Labor, the International Association of Machinists, the Industrial Workers of the World, the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers, and the Metal Trades Department (AFL). Political currents such as sympathizers of Eugene V. Debs, proponents of Syndicalism, and members of the Socialist Party of America influenced worker sentiment, as did radical elements linked to the Communist Labor Party of America and the Communist Party USA precursors. The press environment involved outlets like the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, and ethnic-language papers serving Polish, Italian, Slovak, and Hungarian communities.

Organization and Leadership

Union coordination was led by figures including William Z. Foster, John Fitzpatrick, and C. L. D. Hawkins among organizers, with prominent unionists from the Amalgamated Association and the AFL debating strategy. The strike drew support from leaders associated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations precursors and labor lawyers such as Patrick L. Quinlan who had ties to the Industrial Workers of the World. Ethnic labor organizers from communities tied to Little Steel towns mobilized through mutual aid societies, fraternal orders, and party networks connected to the Socialist Party of America and immigrant branches of the Industrial Workers of the World. Business leadership responded through executives like Elbert H. Gary and managers connected to United States Steel Corporation and Bethlehem Steel who coordinated with chambers such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and regional industry associations.

Strike Actions and Geographic Scope

The strike began with walkouts in September 1919 and spread across major centers including Pittsburgh, Homestead, Pennsylvania, McKees Rocks, Youngstown, Ohio, Gary, Indiana, Cleveland, and Chicago. Striking tactics included mass picketing, sympathy strikes by related trades like boilermakers and patternmakers, and appeals to ethnic unions and local labor councils such as the Central Labor Union. Employers countered with strikebreakers recruited from agencies and ethnic networks, and with aid from municipal police forces in cities like Cleveland and Pittsburgh. The strike intersected with other 1919 labor actions including the Seattle General Strike (1919) and the Boston Police Strike as part of a wider pattern of labor unrest that year. Women and family auxiliaries organized relief through groups modeled on the Women's Trade Union League and ethnic mutual aid societies.

Government and Company Responses

Federal, state, and local authorities intervened through actions tied to wartime statutes and civil order measures, with officials such as state governors invoking policing powers in industrial towns. The Department of Justice and agents connected to the Palmer Raids era targeted radicals and deported some immigrant organizers under laws influenced by the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 climate. Companies employed private security forces and agencies like the Pinkerton Detective Agency and local police departments to protect plants and escort scabs and strikebreakers. Employers used public relations campaigns via newspapers and industry spokesmen to portray strikers as radicals aligned with Bolshevism and destabilizing forces inspired by the Russian Revolution. Arbitration proposals advanced by figures linked to the National Civic Federation and the National Association of Manufacturers were largely rejected by steel executives, and mediation efforts that involved labor leaders from the American Federation of Labor failed to secure union recognition.

Outcomes and Long-term Impact

The strike collapsed by early 1920, leaving the steel industry largely without strong industrial union representation until later movements such as those leading to the formation of the Congress of Industrial Organizations and the successful Steel strike of 1937 efforts. The defeat strengthened corporate control exemplified by policies at United States Steel Corporation and Bethlehem Steel and shaped employer strategies including open-shop campaigns promoted by organizations like the National Association of Manufacturers. The aftermath fed into national debates over immigration restriction culminating in legislation such as the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the Immigration Act of 1924, as anti-radical sentiment influenced public policy during the First Red Scare. Labor scholarship on the event involved historians like David Montgomery and influenced later labor law reforms including aspects of the National Labor Relations Act era reforms. The strike's failure also spurred changes in union strategy, contributing to industrial unionism that later mobilized under leaders such as John L. Lewis and institutions like the CIO.

Category:Labor history of the United States Category:1919 in the United States Category:Strikes (protest)