the pullman strike

The Pullman StrikeChicago 1894

2

Pullman Palace Car Company

• Railway car company owned by George Pullman

• Over 6,000 workers• Workers lived in

“company town”• Rent was 25%

higher than other areas

Interior of a Pullman Sleeper Car

3

Reasons for the Strike

• Historical Context: Depression of 1893

• Pullman cut workers’ wages but didn’t cut rent for apartments

• On May 10, 1894, workers walked out of their factory

4

ARU Supports Pullman Workers

• American Railway Union was a national union of railway workers

• Eugene Debs, ARU leader, decided to support Pullman strikers

• Across the nation, railway workers refused to run trains that had Pullman cars attached to them

• The country was paralyzed

5

Eugene Debs

Eugene V. Debs, the rail union president at the time of the strike, later campaigned as the American Socialist presidential candidate

6

President Grover Cleveland sends in troops

7

Violence Erupts

• Presence of federal troops set off riots

• Rioters burned buildings

• Troops killed 4 people and wounded 20

8

End of Strike

• By August the strike fell apart• 1000 union workers were fired• New workers had to sign contracts

promising not to join a union• Debs was arrested and jailed for 6

months