The Pullman Strike of 1894: A Landmark Labor Dispute in the US

1. The Pullman strike of 1894 Clark Bardman

2. The Pullman Car George Pullman developed the first Pullman car after spending a very uncomfortable night in a sleeping car on a trip from New York to Chicago.

3. The first Pullman Car was designed to be a luxury railroad car that was a day-coach that turned into a sleeper car at night.

4. At first railroads where not interested in this new car as it was higher and wider than other railcars. The presidential railroad car

5. In 1867, George Pullman incorporated the Pullman Palace Car Company.

6. He expanded his business to include dining cars, parlor cars, private cars as well as the sleeping cars.

7. A luxury Pullman Car

8. The town of Pullman George Pullman’s ambitions spread also to developing a safe and clean place for his workers to live.

9. The problem was that Pullman controlled everything in the town

10. 1893 Depression Pullman did not allow the residents to own their homes and hired people to watch the residents for any inappropriate behavior. To make matters worse, a depression occurred in the country in 1893-94.

11. American Railway Union • The Pullman workers joined this union in the spring of 1894, after George Pullman ignored their pleas

12. The Pullman workers strike • The three representatives of the committee who met with George Pullman were laid off. • 90% of the remaining workers voted to strike on May 11

13. The ARU supports strikers • ARU refuses to handle Pullman cars • The strike extended to encompass all of the 24 rail lines out of Chicago

14. Strike continues • As a result of the boycotts and accompanying strikes, the U.S. mail delivery by the railroad and interstate commerce is affected. • Federal troops are called in to help because of the mail stoppage.

15. U.S. Marshals and Federal Troops • July 1st, injunction against Eugene Debs and American Railway Union • July 4th, President Cleveland sent federal troops to protect the Pullman factory

16. STRIKE ENDS! • Federal troops ended the blockade and trains began moving again • Debs is arrested • Strike officially ends as of July 12, 1894

17. Significance of Strike • Was a “landmark in the history of relations between workers and factory owners in the United States” (Laughlin 12) • The strike proved that a large number of workers would be sympathetic to the plight of other workers to cause an interruption of a major service • Highlighted the ongoing dispute between states’ rights and federal powers

18. Works Cited Hofstadter, Richard, and Michael Wallace, eds. American Violence: A Documentary History. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1970. Print. Laughlin, Rosemary. The Pullman Strike of 1894: American Labor Comes of Age. Greensboro, North Carolina: 2000. Print. Picture from slide three: http://www.midcontinent.org/rollingstock Picture from slide four from website: http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/ppmsca/08200/08259r.jpg Pictures from slides five and six: http://www.oklahomafilm.org/photos/Museum Pictures from slide seven: http://explorepahistory.com/images/ExplorePAHistory-a0b3f4-a_349.jp http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pullman_dining_car_1894.jpg Picture from slide eight: http://www.pullman-museum. Picture from slide nine: http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/MASC/masctour/Pullman/burcanjordan.jpg Picture from slide thirteen: http://www.newberry.org/outspoken/exhibit/objectlist_section1.html