The Pullman Strike was a walkout staged by workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago on May 11th, 1894. The strike began over low wages but negotiations fell through. Factory workers turned to the American Railway Union for support and ARU workers refused to work on trains using Pullman cars. In July, federal law enforcement became involved and issued an injunction forbidding the boycott as it had severely limited railway transportation nationwide. This injunction, issued by Attorney General Richard Olney, was the first used to break a strike. When the injunction was ignored by striking workers, President Grover Cleveland dispatched 2,000 troops to force them back to work. Amid the destruction of railroad cars and equipment, National Guardsmen opened fire on the crowd and around 30 strikers were killed with an indeterminate number left wounded. In July of 1894, Grover Cleveland would create Labor Day as a tribute to the contributions of the U.S.
Labor force and to show his apparent support for the working class. |
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