pullman palace car company- manufactured luxury railroad cars between 1880 and 1979 founded by...
TRANSCRIPT
Key Players Pullman Palace Car Company-
manufactured luxury railroad cars between 1880 and 1979 Founded by George M. Pullman
in Chicago, Illinois Was originally designed as
a sleeping and luxury railcar service in 1867
In 1880 began building cars and providing the services for the trains
Became the largest railroad car manufacturer in the United States
American Railway Union (ARU)- primary goal was to united railway employees of all different positions into one large union Founded in Chicago June 20,
1893 Led by Eugene V. Debs
Eugene V. Debs- socialist and advocate for American unions and worker rights
Pullman the Town
One of the Pullman manufacturing locations was in Pullman, Illinois
George Pullman founded the town, and it served as a residency for his workersWas a complete town
Homes for workers were inadequatePoor structuresNo plumbing
Pullman designed the outskirts of the town to appear lavish from the exterior and a “model town of workers” to the public
The Outskirts of the Pullman Town
Origin of the StrikePanic of 1893Pullman offset losses by
cutting factory productivity and reducing wagesDid not reduce rents,
utility charges, or store prices
Resulted in workers having little profit from labor after living expenses
May 7th, 1894 Pullman workers formed a committeeRequested rent to be
lowered to coincide with deductions in wages
Pullman refused and terminated three of the committee members
George Pullman
The Strike Begins After the termination of
committee members, workers declared their intent to strike
On May 10th, 1894 Pullman workers in Pullman, Illinois walked off the job
On May 11th, 1894 the Pullman Plant officially closed
Strike was peaceful for several weeks Pullman management
continued to refuse arbitration with workers
Pullman Union strikers became desperate for aid
Pullman workers walking out after declaring a strike
Assistance Provided Under the direction of
Eugene Debs the American Railroad Union offered assistance to the Pullman workers The ARU had 465 local
unions at the time Pullman workers were
recognized as an affiliated union
Debs attempted to push Pullman into arbitration on behalf of the Pullman workers
The company refused On June 26th, 1894 the
ARU called for a national blockade and boycott of Pullman cars
Switchmen refused to switch trains containing any Pullman cars
Expansion of the Strike Work stoppage against all railroads
utilizing Pullman cars was initiated Within four days of Debs’ work
stoppage order, 125,000 workers employed at twenty-nine separate railroads walked off the job
The Pullman Strike had officially begun
Two sides of the strike Big railroad companies aligning
with Pullman Laborers of railways, and other
skilled and unskilled professions aligning with Pullman workers
Actions were directed toward the General Managers’ Association Responsible for twenty-four of
the rail lines entering Chicago GMA hired strikebreakers
Many were African American
Eugene Debs
Rally and Sympathies On June 27th, 1894 Debs
held a peaceful rally at Blue Island, Illinois Location of railroad
workers also boycotting Pullman cars
Following the speech, the crowd lit nearby buildings afire and derailed a railcar
Debs’ leadership of the ARU caused other states to participate in the strike
Sympathy strikes by local unions occurred in twenty-seven other states, and over 250,000 workers participated in the boycott at its peak Gained the Pullman
strike nationwide recognition
First “National Strike”
Government Response July 2nd, 1894 President
Grover Cleveland, with assistance from U.S. Attorney General Richard Olney, issued a federal injunction against the ARU Forbid union leaders
from supporting the strike
Prevented ARU leaderships, such as Debs, from communicating with the striking workers
Banned the union from interfering with mail and rail movement within the state of Illinois Cited the Interstate
Commerce Act
President Grover Cleveland
Attorney General Richard Olney
Sherman Antitrust Act Originally intended to
curb the existence of trusts and business monopolies
It was used to restrict actions of the ARU during the strike and boycott Cleveland used it to
instead curb the “abuses” of the Pullman strike movement
Enabled the jailing of strikers and the use of federal troops
Sought to primarily break the Pullman Strike and the ARU boycott of Pullman cars
Federal Troops July 3rd, 1894 President
Grover Cleveland ordered troops into Chicago Illinois Governor Peter
Altgeld failed to convince Cleveland to use other measures to put down the strikes
Eugene Debs also warned of the possible violence that could ensue
Eight companies of infantry, one troop of cavalry, and an artillery battalion were positioned along the railroad tracks leading into Chicago Constituted a force of
over two thousand men
Public Reaction July 4th the federal troops’
presence kindled violence Engines were removed
from railcars and destroyed
Freight cars overturned Tower-men removed and
dragged from posts Soldiers struck with
stones, rail spikes, and bricks
Those engaged in the mayhem were primarily citizens of Chicago and sympathizers of the strikers
To address the situation, two thousand special deputies were hired by federal marshals and brought in
Continued Riots The next day, July 5th, a mob of
nearly 10,000 citizens marched from the packinghouse district of Chicago to the rail yards Destroyed property Set railcars afire Pushed freight cars off
tracks Vandalized buildings of the
World Fair site On July 6th an Illinois Central
manager shot two rioters, which sparked revenge by citizens Seven hundred freight cars
were torched Railroad buildings and
bridges were burned Telegraph lines destroyed In total thirteen people were
killed, and fifty-three injured in Chicago
AFL and the Strike’s End National labor leaders
convened to discuss the possibility of a general strike in support of the workers Samuel Gompers, leader
of the AFL, believed the cause was lost due to the issuing of: Federal injunctions Federal troops
AFL labeled George Pullman as “a public enemy”
Commended the ARU boycott and rail workers
Concluded that a general strike would be unwise
Samuel Gompers
Following the strike, Debs and other aids were arrested for: Interfering with U.S. mail Obstructing interstate
commerce Contempt of court
Debs and his counterparts refused to accept or offer bail, and instead remained behind bars in protest of their arrests Debs served six months
in prison after being convicted for violating the court injunction
With Debs and other leaders removed the strike dwindled By August 2nd all Pullman
cars were fully active and the strike ceased
Eugene Debs and Pullman
Eugene Debs’ mug shot after being arrested for contempt of court
Precedents Set Negatives
Willingness of federal government to intervene in large strikes to support capitalists against labor
Criticism by the media Utilization of federal
troops as strikebreakers
Manipulation of federal laws to crush labor movements
Positives Signified the capability
and power of unified labor movements National recognition Citizen support
Labor Day
ReferencesDray, Phillip, “Pullman’s Town,” in There is Power in a Union. New
York: Anchor Books, 2011.
Ladd, Keith and Greg Rickman. “ The Pullman Strike, Chicago,
1894” Kansas Heritage Group. Last modified March 3, 1998.
http://www.kansasheritage.org/pullman/index.html.
“The Pullman Strike.” Illinois Periodicals Online. Last modified
December 1994.
http://www.lib.niu.edu/1994/ihy941208.html.