Pullman Virtual Museum	LABOR RELATIONS

THE GREAT 1893-1894 STRIKE

Pullman publicized his company town as a model community filled with contented, well-paid workers. The Pullman workers, however disagreed, especially after the onset of the economic depression that begain in 1893. During that depression, Pullman sought to preserve profits by lowering labor costs. When the firm slashed its work force from 5,500 to 3,300 and cut wages by an average of 25 percent, the Pullman workers struck. The American Railway Union (ARU), led by Eugene Debs, was trying to organize rail workers all across the country. The Pullman workers joined the ARU, and Debs became the leader of the Pullman strike.

On Friday, May 11th, 1894, at 9:00 a.m. Pullman workers orderly "walked out" of Pullman, with the American Railway Union and its President Eugene V. Debs fully behind them. What followed was the greatest strike in American history. Meetings were held and strike committees formed to arbitrate the situation. ARU delegates decided to boycott Pullman cars on June 26th and the boycott spread throughout the nation. President Grover Cleveland called federal troops in to restore order and placed Debs under arrest. No violence occurred until Independence Day when mobs gathered and burned hundreds of cars. Railroad property damage was estimated at $340,000 and more than forty died in nationwide clashes. Chicago newspaper headlines read, "Big Riot in the Yards" and "World's Fair in Flames." Rioting was not under control until July 18 when workers began returning to Pullman.

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