In the late nineteenth century, steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie's
corporation had succeeded in preventing the formation of the Iron
and Steelworkers Union by employing violent and devious tactics.
At the famous Battle of Homestead, hundreds of strikers had been wounded,
and a dozen killed, after violence erupted. Additionally, thousands
of workers were blacklisted from working at the steel mills as
punishment for their participation in the strike. Conditions in
the steel mills, therefore, failed to improve for many years, until the
American Federation of Labor (AFL) decided to attempt another organizing
drive in 1918. Mother Jones immediately offered her assistance
to the National Committee that had been created specifically for
this unionization drive. One of the most critical problems in organizing
the steelworkers was their inability to speak English. The steel
corporation had preyed for years on immigrants, who were easily
exploited, and had even used its name, the United States Steel
Corporation, to scare the immigrants into thinking that the corporation
was actually a branch of the government.
Traveling along the Monongahela River in Pennsylvania, Mother
Jones gave numerous speeches and held rallies in support of the
union. The workers came in large numbers and listened attentively
to what she had to say. When the steel corporation forbade meetings,
Mother Jones led workers to Ohio, where the steel corporation had
less power. The United States Steel Corporation, led by President
Elbert Gary, used every possible intimidation tactic to remain in
control of its workers and to create distrust of the union. Mother
Jones was arrested in Homestead in the middle of a speech. Workers
rallied around the county jail to demand her release. After a quick
trial, Mother Jones was heavily fined, but she continued her unionization
efforts. Her work, along with the efforts of other union organizers,
succeeded in bringing over 100,000 workers into the union by the
summer of 1919. President Gary, however, repeatedly refused to
negotiate, even though President Wilson himself urged Gary toward
arbitration.
Union members voted to strike if efforts to negotiate
were met with refusal, and on September 22, 1919, 400,000 workers
walked out of work. The strike was difficult to organize and coordinate because
the strikers were spread out between fifty towns and ten states,
and the strikers faced all manner of harassment. Court-ordered
injunctions made it illegal to have meetings, and groups of more
than three people on the street were quickly and violently broken
up. Company spies hindered efforts by union organizers to keep
strikers aware of the situation. No means of communication or correspondence
was allowed, and workers themselves were so intimidated by company
guards that they often did not leave their homes.
The company also attempted to link the strike to the newly formed
Soviet Union, claiming that the strike indicated that revolutionaries
were infiltrating the United States. Many newspapers sided with
the steel corporation against the foreign strikers, and the company
soon turned public opinion against the strikers. The strikers felt
even more isolated, and the Pennsylvania Coal and Iron Police saw
plenty of opportunity to use their authority mercilessly. Guards
even chased children so that they would be too intimidated to venture
out of their homes. Continuous raids, which resulted in the murder
of twenty-six union organizers and strikers, further prevented
the strike from being successful. The strike began to collapse in
the face of the relentless violence of the United States Steel
Corporation and President Gary's ruthlessness and obstinacy. By
January of 1920, the steelworkers went back to work without any
concessions. They continued supporting their families on miserly wages
and the continued to work long hours in dangerous environments.
