The three major strikes that took place in the 1890’s included the Homestead lockout of 1892, the Cripple Creek Miners' Strike of 1894, and the Pullman Strike 1894. All of these were started because of labor conditions and the people affected by the bad conditions. The Homestead lockout of 1892 was caused by steel workers in Pennsylvania who were going against Andrew Carnegie. However Carnegie did not like to be directly involved so he left his business in the hands of Henry Clay Frick. On June 28th Frick locked the workers out of the mills. Frick planed to bring in strikebreakers, the workers vowed to never to let them into the homestead. On July 6th Frick tried to smuggle some pinkertons into the homestead. This backfired and caused about …show more content…
The Strike was a national railroad strike. The main conflict began when nearly 4,000 factory employees of the Pullman Company began a wildcat strikes in response to a reduction in wages. Most factory workers lived in the company town. The town was mostly owned by Pullman himself. When Pullman laid off workers and lowered wages, he did not reduce rents, and this caused workers called for a strike. Eventually the American Railroad Union (ARU) was founded in 1893 by Eugene V. Debs. Debs brought in American Railroad Union organizers to Pullman factories and got many of the frustrated factory workers to sign up. When the Pullman Company refused to recognize the American Railroad Union or any negotiations, American Railroad Union called a strike against the factory, but it showed no sign of success. To win the strike, Debs decided to stop the movement of Pullman cars on railroads. The Pullman conductors and porters did not go on strike. Yet Debs and the American Railroad Union called a boycott against all trains that carried a Pullman car. The American Federation of Labor (AFL), the Railroad Brotherhoods , and the General Managers Association of the railroads coordinated an opposition. Thirty people were killed in response to riots and sabotage between the boycotts and opposition. The federal government got an injunction against Debs,
The homestead strike was a labor strike in which privste guards tried to tske control, killing 16 people. The strike was organized by Carnegie steel factory workers who later gained the support of a Union called the Amalgamated Association. Their goal was to increase their pay. Their appomemt Frick, the man incharge of the managment of the Carnefie company. His goal was to insure the company made profits, Both sides of the strike were written about.
These events marked by both a repetition of struggles and oppression perpetrated by the United Auto Workers Union at the beginning of the decade. The repetition of struggles and oppression of the early conflict between the union and African American workers is obvious in the union’s attempt to contain activity by not helping those who participated in the wildcat strikes. The Detroit riots came as a shock to those who didn’t live in the area and experience the woes of black workers during this time. However, those who did experience this prejudice and oppression, foresaw an inevitable uproar, perhaps of lesser magnitude (Loury).
Henry Frick was most to blame for the labor dispute at Homestead turning into a violent battle because he lowered working conditions, locked disagreeing workers out of the factory, and hired the Pinkertons. Frick lowered the pay and lengthened the work hours for the workers, causing the workers to go on strike. Lowering the workers ' conditions shows that Frick clearly did not care about the workers, causing unhappy workers who wanted to change some things about their work. Frick also locked the workers out of the factory. His quick and uncaring ways showed that whoever was working for Frick did not matter to him since he could easily replace them with workers who would not complain.
He eventually temporarily succeeded in this ideal in 1893 when he became the president of the American Railway Union. A mere 2 years later, Debs started his ascension on to the national stage by organizing Chicago Pullman Car Company strike which would become one of his greatest successes, as well as a huge turning point of his life. The Pullman company as a response to the Great depression that was starting to occur at this time cut wages by 25 percent causing its workers to be unable to support their families. This caused the American Railway Union who possessed over 35 percent of the members of the Pullman Car Company to plan a strike. This strike managed to shut down 25 railroads due to the 125,000 workers boycotting the
The Panic of 1873 contributed to The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 by allowing hardworking people to experience financial struggle and by causing southern blacks to nearly lose the little hope they had remaining. Although The Panic of 1873 contributed to many bad things, it ended in a way many did not think it would end. President Hayes eventually [sent many troops and militia from city to city] where strike occurred to decrease and soon cease all strikes until it was over (PBS 1). In 1878, many believe that this was when the strike was over, but many smaller strikes resulted thereafter from The Great Railroad Strike. But what we refer to as The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 finally ended in 1879.
*Pullman Strike * The Pullman Strike was widespread by the United States railroad workers, approximately a quarter-million worker were on strike at the peak and it impacted the expedition the railroad system across the states. The strike between the American Railway Union and George Pullman changed the course of future strikes when President Grover Cleveland ordered federal troops to break up the strikers; its influenced how the federal government and the court system would handle labor issues. The labor issues during the Pullman Strike were not limited that of rights of the workers, the role of management in the workers private life, and the roles of government resolving labor conflicts. Pullman planned communities for his workers how he determined
(Document 6). In response to the worker’s input towards the Pullman experiment, the American Railway Union (ARU)
In the mid 1800s industry was advancing and children of all ages were working in dangerous factories. People attempted to strike against these rules, while some decided not to. In the book ¨Lyddie¨ by Katherine Paterson, the main character Lyddie has a job in a factory with very poor conditions and long hours. Since this was only the 1800s, child labor laws were not yet established and Lyddie was recently introduced to her idea of rebelling against the rules for more rights.
The Haymarket affair is one most important events in Chicago’s labor protest is questionably still unknown to many of high school kids and down. At this mark in Chicago history several horrifying, and great events happened. Industrial workers were getting fed up with the intense hours and wanted change from their shady bosses. People associated with all the industrial works started to arrange private meeting to talk about what’s wrong within the industries. Soon several of the bosses found out about these meeting and paid the police to eliminate these meetings.
The feeling, shown in Nast's illustration after the railroad strike of 1877, that amalgamations simply lead to more " communistic values" and general uniformity made it very arduous to genuinely get anything done. Samuel Gompers, progenitor of the American Federation of Labor, argued that the right to strike was absolutely obligatory if any reforms were going to be made and not even this right had been officially granted to the people by regime (Document I). Gompers made it very pellucid that not even the very substratum of organized labor had been established and so up until this point the advances that had been made, were virtually frivolous. In conclusion, from 1875-1900 very few advances were made through organized labor in achieving better working conditions for workers.
The Homestead Strike In Homestead Pennsylvania, Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish man owned a steel plant. Carnegie had emigrated from Scotland as a young boy, and had had to work his way up the American work industry. He had a business partner named Henry Clay Frick who owned a coke manufacturing company. Carnegie and his friend had an individualistic opinion when it came to the matters of the workers union, and opposed any form of authority by anyone.
Domestic Labor Strikes of 1881 included laundresses, hotel workers, and many more. But one of the bigger strikes of 1881 was the Washerwoman/ Laundress strike. The washerwoman strike of 1881 affected laundresses worldwide and future laundresses . In 1881 Atlanta, Georgia laundry was and is a big part of staying hygienic. During 1881 laundry work was one of the first chores that some women could afford to have someone do it for them.
The Pullman Strike occurred at the Pullman Palace Car Company due to the Panic of 1893. The Panic of 1893 caused the car company to reduce the worker’s wages because the demand for luxury cars declined. George Pullman himself, who was a very successful businessman know for his innovation as an engineer (made the sleeping car), refused to negotiate, so the workers, and it eventually led to a boycott to the point that any train that transported Pullman cars were to refuse. The other major strike seen during this time period is the Homestead Strike. This strike took place at the Homestead Steel Plant run by Andrew Carnegie (one of the richest entrepreneurs in the Gilded Age).
Workers and families for the Pullman Palace Car Company in Illinois lived in a small town called Pullman and paid wages to the business in order to live there. The Pullman Company in 1894 cut wages but did not lower the price of living for these workers making them absolutely penniless “George M. Pullman, you know, has cut our wages from 30 to 70 percent. George M. Pullman has caused to be paid in the last year the regular quarterly dividend of 2 percent on his stock and an extra slice of 1 1/2 percent, making 9 1/2 percent on $30,000,000 of capital. George M. Pullman, you know, took three contracts on which he lost less than $5,000.” (U.S. strike commission, 1894) These workers and train car workers around the nation stopped working and started protesting all organized by a man named Eugene Debs.
He started this company in Chicago, Illinois, hiring workers in the town to work for him. Following the economic depression in America in 1893, Pullman changed the conditions of these workers. He cut wages, increased working hours, and laid off some workers. On May 11, 1894, several thousands of train workers responded to these conditions, starting an unannounced strike at the Pullman Company in Illinois. During the next couple of months many people died due to the violence that was going on in this strike.