Pullman strike

Pullman strike in U.S. history, an important labor dispute. On May 11, 1894, workers of the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago struck to protest wage cuts and the firing of union representatives. They sought support from their union, the American Railway Union (ARU), led by Eugene V. Debs , and on June 26 the ARU called a boycott of all Pullman railway cars. Within days, 50,000 rail workers complied and railroad traffic out of Chicago came to a halt. When the railroad owners asked the federal government to intervene, Attorney General Richard Olney, a director of the Burlington and Santa Fe railroads, obtained (July 2) a court injunction. On July 4, President Cleveland dispatched troops to Chicago. Much rioting and bloodshed ensued, but the government's actions broke the strike and the boycott soon collapsed. Debs and three other union officials were jailed for disobeying the injunction.

Bibliography: See A. Lindsey, The Pullman Strike (1942, repr. 1964); W. Cawardine, The Pullman Strike (1973).

Pullman strike (1894) A US labour dispute that began when the Pullman Palace Car Company of Chicago laid off men and cut the wages of others, blaming the economic depression, and refused to discuss grievances with its employees. The cause of the workers was taken up by the powerful American Railway Union, led by Eugene V. DEBS. The strike threatened to paralyse the entire railway network unless Pullman went to arbitration. President CLEVELAND's sympathies were with the company, and the federal circuit court at Chicago issued an injunction declaring the strike illegal. Rioting and bloodshed ensued, and Debs was gaoled in 1895. The injunction was open to misuse until amended by the Norris-La Guardia Anti-Injunction Act of 1932.