After the Haymarket Riot, labor organizers and socialists in countries around the world began celebrating May 1 as Workers Day—an occasion U.S. government officials had no interest in sanctioning. Meanwhile, other cities had followed New York’s lead in holding Labor Day celebrations in early September. In 1887, Oregon became the first state to make it an official holiday; by 1894, 22 other states had passed similar legislation.Angry Pullman workers walked out in May 1894, and the following month, the American Railway Union (ARU) and its leader, Eugene V. Debs, declared a sympathy boycott of all trains using Pullman cars.

Question

The Pullman strike effectively halted rail traffic and commerce in 27 states stretching from Chicago to the West Coast, driving the General Managers Association (GMA), a group that represented Chicago’s railroad companies, to seek help from the federal government in shutting the strike down.In 1893, George Pullman laid off three-quarters of his employees, cut wages for many of the ones he brought back by nearly 30 percent, and refused to reduce rents or store prices in the company town he operated south of Chicago. The following year, the American Railway Union, headed by Eugene V. Debs, announced a nationwide boycott of all trains carrying Pullman cars, to support the ARU local whose workers were employed by Pullman. The Pullman strike was the first instance in American labor history of a sympathy action, in which workers who aren’t directly involved in a dispute intervene to help fellow laborers.

The ARU managed to shut down rail travel in 27 states, an area stretching from Chicago to the West Coast, according to Indiana State University labor historian Richard Schneirov. But after Pullman’s company joined forces with railroad managers, President Grover Cleveland’s Attorney General Richard Olney convinced a federal judge to issue an injunction against the strikers, and Cleveland himself sent 10,000 federal troops in to suppress the strike. Most of the strikers eventually were rehired, except for union leaders who were blacklisted by Pullman. Debs served six months in prison for violating the injunction and used his time behind bars to read Karl Marx’s Das Kapital. After his release, he became active in the Socialist Party and ran five times for U.S. president.

Why did workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company choose to strike on May 11, 1894 using the paragraphs

Answer 1

Workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company chose to strike on May 11, 1894, in response to the significant layoffs and wage cuts implemented by George Pullman in the previous year, which severely affected their livelihoods. The workers were frustrated because, despite the cuts in wages by nearly 30%, Pullman refused to reduce the high rents and prices in the company town where they lived. The decision to strike on May 11 was also influenced by the broader labor movement's coordination efforts and growing discontent among workers, as they rallied under the support of the American Railway Union (ARU) and its leader, Eugene V. Debs.

The strike was part of a larger sympathy boycott initiated by the ARU to support the local workers at Pullman, marking a significant moment in American labor history with workers from different areas standing in solidarity with one another. This strike erupted into a massive movement that paralyzed rail traffic and commerce across half the country, demonstrating the increasing power and organization of labor in the face of oppressive conditions. The timing to strike in May aligned with the growing international tradition of marking Workers Day on May 1, further emphasizing the solidarity among workers and their collective demands for better wages and working conditions.

Thus, the choice of May 11 was not only a direct response to the specific grievances faced by Pullman workers but also a reflection of the broader labor struggle that was gaining momentum during the late 19th century in the United States.