Pullman+Strike+of+1894

= Pullman Strike of 1894 =

The Pullman Strike was the last major strike in the 19th century. Widespread violence broke out and most railroad operations were greatly impaired. The strike was declared illegal and broken up by federal troops.

** Company **
The Pullman Palace Car Company was formed in Chicago in 1867 by George Pullman. The company became one of the largest train car companies with the success of Pullman’s luxurious sleeper cars, which proved to be extremely popular among the public. In its largest manufacturing plant in Pullman, Illinois, the company built an entire town to accommodate the workers. The town was well-equipped and maintained with running water, indoor toilets, gas, paved and lit streets, and unprecedented public health care. However, all buildings and services were controlled by the Pullman Company, who determined rents, outlawed the sale of alcohol, and forbid union meetings. George Pullman himself was widely regarded by the public as enlightened and kind to his workers. However, some saw the injustices of Pullman town even before the strike, such as the Chicago Tribune;

The Chicago Tribune, 1888

// "Pullman may appear to be all glitter and glory // // to the casual visitor but there is a deep, dark background of discontent which it would be idle to deny." //



** The Workers **

The workers of the Pullman Car Company were forced to live inside Pullman, IL, in order to work for the company. The company controlled all of the prices of standard human resources in the town, as well as wages in the company. Originally, the arrangements were working, with the workers having decent wages and a decent lifestyle, despite the fact that rents were 20% to 25% higher than rents in the surrounding area. Many workers decided to join the American Railway Union (ARU) after the Panic of 1893, which made the company slash wages by a fourth, without lowering any prices. Thomas W. Heathcoate, a local leader of the Pullman workers, described what happened.

= = // "In May 1893, we were getting good wages. 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, plus the dismissal of three members of a grievance committee from the company despite promises not to, began the Pullman Strike.


 * The **** Union **

The workers organized under the American Railway Union (ARU), lead by president Eugene V. Debs. The ARU represented workers by their industry rather than their specific job, the first of its kind. The ARU first blew into the public spotlight after the successful Great Northern Railroad strike in 1894, where they succeeded in restoring cut wages. The success subsequently attracted railroad workers nationwide, and ARU membership grew to 150,000 workers. Heathcoateexplained why they went to the ARU.

//"we could not see any more feasible plan than to organize in the American Railway// //Union////, for the reason, we believed, that union was stronger than any other organization in the country."//

The recent success of the ARU made the Pullman workers believe that the ARU was the strongest union in the nation. Pullman workers had been secretly joining the ARU before the strike occurred. Despite the objection of ARU leaders, Pullman workers voted to strike on May 11, 1894. 4ARU leaders attempted to meet with leaders of the Pullman company to negotiate; Pullman leaders refused to even meet. In response, the ARU authorized a boycott of Pullman cars for all workers in the ARU across the nation. When employees began firing these workers, the ARU changed the boycott into a full strike on June 26.

The Pullman Strike began as a boycott on May 11, 1894, after the Pullman Car Company had dismissed negotiations from the ARU. Even though sympathy for the ARU grew very high, the Pullman Car Company remained firm, and refused to change any of their policies. The union, however, had threatened the company with boycott, which they held to. By the end of June, 1894, over 125,000 workers had joined the boycott. Workers refused to handle trains with Pullman cars, bringing the nation's railroad system to a grinding halt. When employers started dismissing workers in the boycott, the ARU began a nation-wide strike. The New York Times described the escalation from a local boycott into a national strike.
 * Strike! **

New York Times, June 29, 1894

// "With a simple beginning of a few hundred discontented strikers at Pullman, Illinois, who were attempting to force a local issue, the Pullman strike and // // consequent boycott has assumed the proportions of the greatest battle between labor and capital that has ever been inaugurated in the //// United States //// ." //

A federal injunction was made which made the strike illegal and charged the ARU with interfering with US mail, as Pullman company had deliberately attached Pullman cars to trains carrying US mail to get the government involved. The Chicago Tribune described the public's response to the injunction and the government's justification for federal troops to arrive on the scene.

Chicago Tribune, July 3, 1894

" // All hope of peace and decency fled when United States Marshal Arnold read the injunction to the mob. They booed at it, jeered and laughed. When the printed notices were pasted up, they tore them down and spat upon them. In every way they showed their contempt of the constituted authority of the // // United States // // . Finding he could do nothing to uphold the dignity of the court, Marshal Arnold directed the following telegram to Attorney-General Olney at // // Washington // // : //

// I am here at // // Blue Island // //. Have read the order of the court to the rioters here and they simply hoot at it. They pay no attention to it and have made threats that they will not allow any Pullman car to pass through on the // // Rock Island // // road. We have had a desperate time with them here all day and our force is inadequate. In my judgement it is impossible to move trains without having the Fifteenth Infantry from // // Fort // // Sheridan // // ordered here at once. There are over 2,000 rioters here and more coming. Mail trains are in great danger. //

// J. W. Arnold // // United States Marshal" //

President Cleveland sent in U.S federal troops, which then opened fire on a crowd of strikers on July 4, killing about 30 people. The combination of federal troops and violence brought the strike to an end on July 13th.




 * Public Response **

At first, the public, especially those around the Chicago area, supported the boycott, as workers in the Pullman town were no longer able to support their families, a violation of Victorian-era principles which put the responsibility of their families onto the men. However, as violence broke out public opinion began to disapprove of the strike. Eugene Debs, realizing that the strike was failing, attempted to organize other labor unions into supporting them. However, a group of the nation's top labor union leaders, lead by American Federation of Labor president Samuel Gompers rushed to Chicago to put a stop any possible support, as he feared it would engage surrounding labor unions into a conflict doomed to fail. As Debs and other ARU leaders were arrested for interfering with US mail in the rail cars, the strike soon came to an end without the support of either the public nor other labor unions.


 * Changes **

The Pullman Strike was the first strike in the United States to be broken up by a federal injunction. The president of the American Railway Union was arrested and put in jail again, this time for 6 months on July 17, 1984. By the time he was released, the ARU had ceased to exist. Debs spent the time in jail reading on Marxist sociologies and became the US's most popular socialist figure afterwards. Most of the workers were rehired when the strike ended, while the leaders were blacklisted from working at other railroad companies. The strike, although a failure, convinced the American public that the labor problem was real and marked the beginning of serious tensions between workers and industrialists.


 * References **


 * "Pullman strike." //American History //. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 15 May 2011. **


 * "Pullman Palace Car Company." //American History //. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 15 May 2011 **


 * "American Railway Union." //American History //. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 15 May 2011. **


 * Yellen, Samuel. // American Labor Struggles // . New York: S.A. Russell, The Harbor Press, 1936. **

Schneirov, Richard. "The Pullman Strike and Boycott." // Illinois Historical Digitization Projects: Northern Illinois University Libraries //. Northern Illinois University Libraries, 2007. Web. 15 May 2011. < [] >.

29, June. "The Pullman Strike." // Illinois Periodicals Online at Northern Illinois University - (Main Page) //. Northern Illinois University Libraries. Web. 15 May 2011. < [] >.

EHistory Contributors. "EHistory at OSU | Multimedia Histories." // EHistory at OSU | Welcome to EHistory //. Ohio State University. Web. 15 May 2011. < [] >.

Howes, Edward H. "California HISTORIAN -- Pullman Strike of 1894." // California HISTORIAN :: Celebrating California History through the Conference of California Historical Societies //. CONFERENCE of California Historical Societies. Web. 15 May 2011. < [] >.


 * Primary**

"Troops to Kill It." // Chicago Tribune // 3 July 1894. // American Experience: Chicago, City of the Century //. PBS. Web. 16 May 2011. < [] >.

Heathcoate, Thomas W. "Report on the Chicago Strike of June–July 1894." // PH School //. Prentice Hall. Web. 16 May 2011. <[] >.

=**Pictography **=

1 and 3; Photograph. // E-History //. Ohio State University. Web. 15 May 2011. < [] >. 2. <span style="color: #121917; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,'sans serif';">"American Railway Union." //<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px initial initial; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">American History //. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 15 May 2011. < []>