Pullman+Strike+of+1894

= __ Pullman Strike of 1894 __ =

The Company: Pullman's Palace Car Company The Pullman's Palace Car Company, owned by George Pullman, was located in a town owned by the company on the outskirts of Chicago. Pullman manufactured sleeping cars that were a part of all the major railroads in America at the time. When depression hit, Pullman and his company strived to maintain their high profits. Their solution to the problem was to fire some worker’s and for the ones lucky enough to keep their jobs, they cut their wages. Pullman cut down their workforce by over 2,000 workers, and lowered wages by an average of 25 percent.

The Union: The American Railway Union The American Railway Union was a large union that encompassed workers of many different companies within the railroad industry. It was the first union ever to cover a whole industry. The American Railway Union was not afraid to strike when provoked by lowering wages, cutting benefits, and/or increasing hours. This union was founded on June 20, 1893, and was a major player in the Pullman Strike of 1894. The members of the union were constantly pushing against the upper levels of management of the railway companies to keep wages, benefits, and hours from getting too low. The Workers: The Pullman Palace Car Company Employees

the workers of Pullman Palace Car Company were sick and tired of the increasingly elongated hours that they were being forced to work, along with the steadily decreasing salaries they were being paid. Because George Pullman owned most of the businesses within the town of Pullman, Indiana, he was able to keep prices steady in the stores where his workers were forced to shop while decreasing the pay of the workers in order to turn a greater overall profit. While this was a smart money making strategy for Pullman, it worked against all of his employees and forced many of them to move and find new jobs because their money was simply stretched too thin. A quote from one of Pullman’s employees said, “ Along about September 1893, our wages began to be reduced because work was slack, and they kept reducing our pay each month. They kept reducing the price of piecework until it was almost impossible for us to live; in January 1894, the men wanted to strike, but we were not organized at that time; and in order to succeed in securing a higher rate of pay it became necessary for us to organize in some way.” This quote shows the workers’ motivation to strike, but in order to strike they first needed to organize. This organization was found in the American Railway Union which provided the workers with the organization they needed to finally stand up for their beliefs.

The Problem: Disagreement on Salary

The workers of Pullman Palace Car Company were sick and tired of the increasingly elongated hours that they were being forced to work, along with the steadily decreasing salaries they were being paid. Because George Pullman owned most of the businesses within the town of Pullman, Indiana, he was able to keep prices steady in the stores where his workers were forced to shop while decreasing the pay of the workers in order to turn a greater overall profit. While this was a smart money making strategy for Pullman, it worked against all of his employees and forced many of them to move and find new jobs because their money was simply stretched too thin. A quote from one of Pullman’s employees said, “ Along about September 1893, our wages began to be reduced because work was slack, and they kept reducing our pay each month. They kept reducing the price of piecework until it was almost impossible for us to live; in January 1894, the men wanted to strike, but we were not organized at that time; and in order to succeed in securing a higher rate of pay it became necessary for us to organize in some way.” This quote shows the workers’ motivation to strike, but in order to strike they first needed to organize. This organization was found in the American Railway Union which provided the workers with the organization they needed to finally stand up for their beliefs.

Strike! The Union held their first convention on June 12, 1894. Eugene Debs was voted president of the American Railroad Union. Debs encouraged that the union deal with disagreements directly with George Pullman in order to raise wages, however the workers were so angered that they were more in favor of a boycott. The Union voted to stop running trains with Pullman cars until Pullman agreed to arbitration, or the hearing and resolving of a disputed case. Pullman instead met with the General Managers’ Association and planned to resist the boycotts. Pullman’s goal was to get the government involved so that they could win the case in court. They did so by attaching Pullman cars to mail carrying trains. Since the boycott then interfered with U.S. mail delivery, the federal government was able to step in. On July 2, 1894 a federal injunction, or a writ granted by a court requiring an act to either be done or be refrained from being done, was granted under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. This injunction went against the actions of the strike and activities of the ARU, ultimately leading to the imprisonment of Debs. President Grover Cleveland also sent federal troops to invade. The troops killed about 30 people when they opened fire on strikers. On August 2, 1894 the ARU called off the boycott. Impact The greatest impact the strike had was on Americans who were disgusted to realize the huge labor problem that was going on in their country due to conflicts between the higher class and the working class. Competition and labor both drove the industry, and therefore needed to be protected. After the Pullman strike Americans took more notice and action into protecting labor while still maintaining profit. Another impact of the strike was the imprisonment of Debs. While in prison, Debs finally came to see that the conditions of workers would never improve through rebellious strikes. He knew that changes had to come from the government. Debs studied the works of Karl Marx and when he was released from jail he succeeded as a socialist leader. Debs knew that this way he could gain more numbers for elections, and eventually more government power.

References: -ABC-CLIO. "Pullman strike." American History. http://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Results?q=445660 (accessed May 12, 2011). "eHistory at OSU | Multimedia Histories." eHistory at OSU | Welcome to eHistory. http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/mmh/1912/content/eventsOfPullmanStrike.cfm (accessed May 11, 2011). -"eHistory at OSU | Multimedia Histories." eHistory at OSU | Welcome to eHistory. http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/mmh/1912/content/pullman.cfm (accessed May 11, 2011). "Pullman Strike." Spartacus Educational - Home Page. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USApullman.htm (accessed May 11, 2011). -Heathcoate, Thomas. “Report On the Chicago Strike of June–july 1894.” Prentice Hall School. http://www.phschool.com/atschool/primary_sources/report_chicago_strike.html (accessed May 11, 2011). -Heaps, Willard A. Riots Usa. 2nd ed. New York: The Seabury Press, 1970. -Warne, Colston E.. // The Pullman boycott of 1894; the problem of Federal intervention. //. Boston: Heath, 1955. -"Samuel Gompers’s Editorial on the Pullman Strike - Document Text." Milestone Documents · Your primary source for historic texts and analysis.. http://www.milestonedocuments.com/documents/view/samuel-gomperss-editorial-on-the-pullman-strike/text (accessed May 12, 2011).

Pictures: -Portrait of George Pullman [] -Angry strikers http://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/290194?terms=pullman+strike -Portrait of Eugene Debs http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/Debs2.gif