Steinway controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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1880
Labor lockout and worker-surveillance controversy
Steinway’s New York operations were involved in labor disputes during the 1880s. Historical reporting describes an industry-wide lockout, the employment of detectives to monitor workers, police support for management, and evictions involving strike leaders. These events reflect the harsh labor relations of the period and remain a negative aspect of the company’s industrial history.
1876
Disputed allegations concerning exhibition judging
Historical accounts have alleged that judges at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition were bribed or improperly influenced in favor of Steinway. Other accounts, including a company historian’s interpretation, dispute or qualify the allegations and state that the evidence does not establish repeated company bribery. The episode remains a contested part of the company’s nineteenth-century history.