Today in History, May 11th (The Pullman strike was a pivotal moment in U.S. labor history)

http://www.workdayminnesota.org/history/05/11




The Pullman strike was a pivotal moment in U.S. labor history.

May 11, 1894

The Pullman strike was a pivotal moment in U.S. labor history.
The Pullman strike began. Some 260,000 workers joined the walkout called by the American Railway Union to support employees at the Illinois factory where Pullman sleeping cars were made. The workers were protesting cuts in their wages by owner George Pullman, who forced them to live in his company-owned town, where he controlled the cost of their food, housing and other necessities.

American Railway Union President Eugene V. Debs, fresh from his union's victory in the Great Northern strike, responded to the Pullman workers' call for help. He organized workers to walk off the job on any railroad that used Pullman sleeping cars.

The strike was eventually crushed with the help of federal troops. Debs was arrested and sentenced to prison for his role in the strike. The ARU fell apart. The defeat of the Pullman strike signaled a new wave of anti-worker activity by employers and government.

May 11, 1907
The Minneapolis Millers Union met and voted to consolidate with the Nailers and Packers Union.