How did andrew carnegie's response to the homestead strike affect public opinion about him

Andrew Carnegie placed Henry Clay Frick in charge of his company's operations in 1881. Frick wanted to stop unions' presence in the factories; "The workers have never been able to reach the product to which they are owed, because of being stopped by the men of the union," he complained in a letter to Carnegie.

Carnegie was publicly in favor of the unions. He condemned the use of shells and told associates that no steel mill was worth spilling a single drop of blood. However, Carnegie agreed with Frick's idea of destroying unions and "reorganizing the whole thing."

On June 30, 1892, Frick and the AA leaders entered into negotiations. The members of AA demanded a salary increase; Frick responded immediately with a 22% decrease in salary that would affect almost half of the union members and removed several AA members who worked in his factory from their positions. Carnegie encouraged Frick to use the negotiations to dissolve the Union, since Carnegie believed that the AA was an obstacle to effectiveness. He also laid off a large number of employees, admitting a small number of workers who made the Carnegie Steel Company an elitist organization. This put public opinion against him.

He lost standing because of his harsh behavior