Railroad Strike of 1877 (Great Railroad Strike of 1877)
The nation’s first strike took place in 1877 when workers on the Baltimore and
Ohio and other Eastern Railroads walked off the job to protest a wage cut. When
railroads hired other workers to replace them, the angry strikers tried to keep the
trains from running. Riots broke out, and pitched battles were fought between
strikers and militia. Much property was destroyed in several railroad centers,
especially Pittsburgh. Order was finally restored when President Hayes sent in
federal troops. Unable to prevent trains from running, and afraid of losing their
jobs, the strikers reluctantly accepted the wage reduction.
Haymarket Riot
Encouraged by the impact of 1877 strike, labor leaders continued to press for
changed. On the evening of May4, 1886, 3,000 people gathered at Chicago’s
Haymarket Square to protest the slaying of several strikers by police at the
McCormick Harvester plant a short time earlier. As the meeting was nearing its
end, police arrived on the scene. A bomb was thrown, killing seven Pinktertons
(hired police) and wounding dozens of bystanders. Additional people were hurt in
the panic that ensued. Although no one knew who actually threw the bomb, eight
radical agitators were arrested for the crime, tried, and found guilty. Four were
executed, one committed suicide, and the others received life sentences. Despite
the fact that the Knights of Labor had not sponsored the Haymarket Riot and had
condemned the bombing, the public and the press blamed the union for the
incident. Therefore, membership declined in the Knights of Labor and it eventually
disappeared. After the Haymarket Riots, employers were much more reluctant to
hire anyone associated with labor unions.
Homestead Strike
Refusing to take a cute in wages, workers of the Carnegie Steel Company in
Homestead Pennsylvania struck in 1892. The company attempted to bring 300
unarmed guards from private detective agency to protect its property and break
the strike. In a battle between the strikers and the guards, 10 detectives were
killed and the rest were driven off. Under the protection of state militia,
strikebreakers were hired to resume steel production. After 5 months and facing
starvation due to no money, the strike collapsed and the striking workers accepted
the company’s terms; however, Carnegie denied many the opportunity to come
back to work and had many strikers blacklisted. It would take another 45 years for
steel workers to gain enough support to strike again
Pullman Strike
During the Panic of 1893 and the economic depression that followed, the Pullman
Company laid off more than 3,000 employees and cute wages of the rest by 25 to
50 percent, without cutting the cost of its employee housing. After paying their
rent, many workers took home less that $6 a week. Threatened with a wage cut,
workers at the Pullman Company’s sleeping-car manufacturing plant near Chicago
went out on strike in 1894. Railroad employees across the country supported the
strikers by refusing to handle any train hauling Pullman cars. This support brought
nearly all trains to a halt. Violence flared up when the railroads tried to keep trains
running. President Grover Cleveland dispatched federal troops to restore order
and keep mail serve from being disrupted. The railroads meanwhile obtained a
court order, or injunction, that forbade the strikers from interfering with mail
transportation and interstate commerce. When the strike leaders refused to call
off the walkout, they were arrested for violating the injunction. With the strike
leaders in jail and train service restored under the protection of federal troops, the
strike was broken.
Anthracite Coal Strike
The United Workers struck in 1902 after the mine owners in Pennsylvania refused
to recognize the union or to discuss a wage increase. With winter approaching,
President Theodore Roosevelt threatened to seize and operate the mines with
federal troops to avoid a fuel shortage. Thereupon, the owners agreed to allow an
impartial commission to arbitrate the dispute, and the mines called off their strike.
The commission awarded the miners an increase in wage but rejected their
demand for union recognition. Roosevelt’s intervention and forced compromise is
an example of what he referred to as a “square deal.” Roosevelt’s actions had
demonstrated a new principle. From then on, when a strike threatened the public
welfare, the federal government was expected to fix it.