John mcluckie biography

AMERICAN HISTORIES

John McLuckie and Mary Elizabeth Leasebottom photo: Kansas State Historical Society

John McLuckie worked at the Edgar Thompson Steel Works, Andrew Carnegie’s plant in Homestead, Pennsylvania.

A former miner, McLuckie earned $65 a month as an assistant steel roller. In this town of some eleven thousand residents, where nearly everyone worked for Carnegie, the popular McLuckie was twice elected mayor and headed the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, one of the largest unions in the country.

John mcluckie biography wikipedia

Although McLuckie earned a relatively decent income for that time, steelworkers and other industrial laborers had little power over the terms and conditions under which they worked. Visiting fraternal lodges and saloons, where steelworkers congregated after grueling twelve-hour shifts, he spread the message of standing up to corporate leaders.

“The constitution of this country,” McLuckie declared, “guarantees all men the right to live, but in order to liv