The Outcome Of Two Major Railroad Strikes

Workers became “more numerous, better organized, more disciplined, and more successful” even though employers tried to stop them (Who Built America 113). Many of these workers led strikes for better hours, better wages and better conditions. When comparing the 1800s to today, we see that strikes were very effective, an example of this is shown in the 8-hour movement. Unions helped win “more than 60 percent of the strikes waged in 1889 and 1890” (Who Built America 113). Due to these workers, employees now face fewer obstacles. Whenever workers felt as though they were being taken advantage of they could “refuse to work, if they withdraw their cooperation, every social institution can be brought to a halt” (Brecher 5). Without workers, the employers will have no one to complete products therefore not being able to make a profit. Subsequently, employees will have leverage over the employers so they can finally sit down and negotiate their conditions. This was shown in the Michigan Central Railroad where workers fought for their wages to increase by two dollars. The workers exhibited their resistance when “streetcars, wagons, and buggies were stopped; tanneries, stoneworks, clothing factories, lumberyards, brickyards, furniture factories, and a large distillery was closed in response to roving crowds” (Brecher 31). The result of this strike was “victorious, and 2 dollars a day became the standard wage in Galveston” (Brecher 31). This strike was important because it exhibited to others that if they unite then they can achieve better conditions. If the workers did not unionize they would not have achieved equality in the workforce and better wages and conditions. Without resistance, these workers would have never gotten negotiations or the necessities they need. Even if workers lost because of outside interference they eventually had the power to change the minds of

* The crowd pushed a streetcar over  one man killed 30 injured  Bloody Saturday

Labor union were crucial in the late 1800’s when the workers were working long hours, doing hard work, without any extra pay. Job security (could be fired at any given time) and safety precautions did not exist in this era, jobs in this day was typically a threat to the workers due to the bad working conditions. When the union was formed in 1866 it was not easy, but if the workers understood how it would benefit them it would have been a greater successes. Due to lack of education, the communication between the union and the works was broken. Some of the religious beliefs created a hardship on getting the union passed. One of the unions called the AFL (American Federation of Labor) was created in 1881 that would try to fight for workers’ rights.

As the rich became richer and the poor became poorer, it was realized by the laborers of the railroad that their nation's economic growth and prosperity was not being equally shared among the people. Coupled with years of wage cuts (35% over 3 years), and workforce reductions, that then required remaining workers to work 15-18 hour days, the workers fought back.

Everyone was frustrated with work conditions and this led to the formations of unions around the country. The Knights of Labor was a very popular union that led the first major strike in the United States. The year was 1885 and Jay Gould’s Missouri Pacific Railroad was the target. The owner, Jay Gould, had recently cut wages drastically and fired union members. The Knights led the strike and eventually succeeded to improve wages for the railroad workers. With this great accomplishment the Knights gained

Because of the rising change of social and industry they kind of caused friction towards political views. Miners and steelworkers were the first workers to use the strike ad a bargaining tool against their business owners.

The Pullman Strike of 1894 was the first national strike in American history and it came about during a period of unrest with labor unions and controversy regarding the role of government in business.5 The strike officially started when employees organized and went to their supervisors to ask for a lowered rent and were refused.5 The strike had many different causes. For example, workers wanted higher wages and fewer working hours, but the companies would not give it to them; and the workers wanted better, more affordable living quarters, but the companies would not offer that to them either. These different causes created an interesting and controversial end to the Pullman strike. Because of this, questions were raised about the strike

There was a clear divide between bosses and workers which led to a certain level of disdain between the two; a disdain that could be set off very easily by the actions of one another. Businesses were booming and economy was expanding, so business owners had to find a way to stay in business and not let other companies take over. To do this, they often resorted to cutting wages or even lockouts. The lockouts forced workers to either quit or agree to a pay cut, but only cutting wages gave workers reason to strike. This greed from both sides caused conflict which sometimes led to violence. As strikes went on, strikers and bosses became more desperate. Strikers resorted to violence and bosses called in higher authorities-strikes were declared illegal, militias were sent in, and people got hurt. As a result of The Great Upheaval, 100 people died and 1,000 others were imprisoned (37a. The Great Upheaval). Although strikes almost never turned out the way they

The Great Railroad strike of 1877 led to many problems this strike, also referred to as the Great Upheaval, which began in July in a town named Martinsburg, West Virginia, the railroad strike ended forty-five days after locals, state militias and federal troops shut it down. The goals of the railroad strike were for a wage increase. The workers of the railroad were not represented by labor unions, which mad the workers angry therefore several cities started to build armories to support their militias to avoid any problems. There were many causes of the strike, one was that the civil war ended and a boom in railroad construction ensued about 55,000 of new tracks being laid between the years 1866 and 1873. In 1873, the Wake of the panic developed between workers and leaders. As immigration from Europe was underway, the railroad jobs were increasing and it became a competition, which enables companies to drive down the wages and lay off their workers. Speculators fed large amounts of money into the railroad industry causing an abnormal growth (en.wikipedia.org).

The Labor Unions organized various strikes in an attempt to improve labor conditions and rights. The strikes became increasingly more violent and the media merged the violence with radicalism, communism and anarchism. The political cartoon suggests that Labor Unions are killing capitalism with communism, the radical violence tainting the image of the Labor Unions and shifted the public support; focused on the Great Rail Road Strike of 1877 and the radical violence (Document 2). Following the Great Strike of 1877, the Haymarket Square Riot sparked further controversy towards the acts of violence. The Haymarket Square Riot and Bombing involved the Knights of Labor and advocated a violent overthrow of the American government. The Chicago police had been called to end the protest and in the chaos a bomb was thrown, injuring and killing several dozen people. After the Haymarket Square Riot, a gradual repression of the labor movement occurred. The public lost trust in the worker's associations and the campaign. The American labor movement, in general, received a setback due to the riot, also weakening the struggle for the eight-hour day demand. The Homestead Strike and Lockout of 1892 was one of the most violent strikes; the riot was ended by Pinkerton Detectives and the state militia, and the violence further damaged the image of unions. The purpose of the

Macdonald, Allen Ch. 15: This chapter covers the events from 1865-1877, known as the era of reconstruction; when major changes in the sociological and economical standards occurred. Equality was a forefront of the national agenda; however, during this time many lines were blurred and shaded. Certain stigmas and social complexes remained, some blacks seized property, and black codes were established to minimize their social standing. Black codes certainly were established to restrict the rights of black people, essentially hindering their social position.

5. Great Railroad Strike of 1877 cut wages of railroad workers by 10 percent, so the workers stopped working. President Hayes sent troops to stop the workers from stop working and more than 100 people dead. This event was the start of the conflict between workers and owners. The conflict between the Irish and Chinese in labor caused terrorization of the Chinese. Chinese Exclusion Act then was passed to restrict Chinese immigration until 1943.

A great example of a labor strife during the gilded age was the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 occurred because of people who chose to protest steep wage cuts. Many railroad workers walked off the job due to this and some of the even started riots through the streets to protest the economic injustice (515). This brought much destruction as there were fires resulting from the government of Pennsylvania attempted break up the strike by sending state militia (515). The Railroad Strike of 1877 resulted in over fifty people dead and $40 million worth of damage (515).

It happened in the anthracite coal fields in eastern Pennsylvania. It started out due to the fact that the miners demanded safer working conditions, shorter working hours and a 20% wage increase. As the strike lasted up to winter, businesses and school had to shut down as they lacked coal for heating. Mine operators refused to comply the miners demand because they complained that their profit was low and that the United Mine Workers of America ruined discipline. As the protest got worse, miners resorted to President Roosevelt in hoping for changes from him.

The strike lasted all of 45 days, and became to lose steam and effectively come to a halt after President Hayes sent federal troops from city to city. There is no exact record of the losses faced by the country during this strike, but it is reported that the engineers' and firemen's brotherhoods lost approximately $600,000 over the forty-five days of the strike, while for the Burlington Railroad the losses were at least $2,100,000. In Pittsburgh, it was estimated that property damage reached over three million dollars, with Chicago, Baltimore and other cities facing losses of a similar magnitude. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Railroad_Strike)