J. F. Miller "Report to Joseph Wood, General Manager, Pennsylvania Lines West of Pittsburgh,
on the 1894 Strike of the American Railroad Union" (222 p) on Microfilm, 1894
Collection Number: 5449 mf
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Title:
J. F. Miller "Report to Joseph Wood, General Manager, Pennsylvania Lines West of Pittsburgh,
on the 1894 Strike of the American Railroad Union" (222 p) on Microfilm, 1894
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
5449 mf
Abstract:
Two hundred and twenty-two page report on the 1894 Pullman Strike, written for Joseph
Wood, General Manager of the Pennsylvania Lines West of Pittsburgh, South West System,
by J. F. Miller, General Superintendent of the same.
Creator:
Miller, J. F.
Quanitities:
0.22 cubic feet
Language:
Collection material in English
The Pullman Strike was a nationwide railroad strike and boycott that took place from
May 11, 1894 to August 1894.
The Pullman Palace Car Company built railroad cars at its main factory just south
of Chicago, Illinois, in the company town of Pullman. The majority of Pullman employees
lived in the company town. As a company town, all housing, shops, churches, libraries,
and other civic institutions were owned by the Pullman Company, which set the rates
of rent, groceries, and other amenities. After the Panic of 1893 and the ensuing financial
depression, the Pullman Company faced decreased demand for their product and in response
slashed wages by about 25 percent while making no changes to the cost of living for
their employees. The employees, fearing starvation, approached the owner of the company,
George Pullman, to try to negotiate a solution. However, Mr. Pullman declined to make
any changes or to engage in arbitration. In response, the Pullman employees walked
off the job on May 11, 1894. Although only about 35 percent of the Pullman employees
were represented by the American Railway Union [ARU] at the time of the walkout, the
ARU and its president, Eugene V. Debs, promised to support the Pullman manufacturing
workers in any action they took. Notably, the ARU did not extend the same courtesy
to the African-American sleeping car porters employed by the Pullman Company.
To support the Pullman employees who walked off the job, the ARU launched a nationwide
boycott in which ARU members refused to run any train containing a Pullman car. By
the end of June 1894, over 125,000 railroad workers on 29 different lines had walked
off the job. The hope was that the railroad companies would force Pullman to compromise
with his employees. Instead, the railroad companies coordinated their response, made
sure that every train, passenger or freight, was pulling a Pullman car, and began
hiring strikebreakers.
The ARU members on strike had agreed to continue to operate trains carrying U.S.
mail, if there were no Pullman cars attached to the same train. The railroad companies'
decision to add a Pullman car to every train meant that U.S. mail was not being delivered,
and gave the federal government a pretext to intervene. Additionally, there was mounting
public pressure to intervene as the strike and the boycott effectively crippled all
railroads west of Chicago and rioting, vandalism, and looting became associated with
the actions of the strikers. In early July, President Grover Cleveland sent troops
to Chicago to break up the strike. At the same time, Eugene V. Debs was placed under
injunction by circuit court judges, preventing him or other union leaders from communicating
with their members. Debs, who had been urging restraint and decrying violence to his
members, was suddenly unable to legally communicate with them and dissuade them from
rash actions.
The arrival of the federal troops in Chicago on July 3, 1894 infuriated the strikers,
and they and their sympathizers responded by destroying railroad property, overturning
railcars, and creating barriers to block the troops from reaching the train yards.
Violence exploded in the south side of Chicago, and at rail yards around the country,
as the strikers and the federal troops clashed. Thirty strikers were killed, fifty-seven
were wounded, over $80 million in property damage was caused, and the strikers had
lost more than $1 million in wages.
Thanks to the intervention of the federal government, the strike was effectively
broken by mid-July, and the Pullman employees returned to their jobs in August after
agreeing to sign a pledge that they would never again try to join a union.
Inclusive date range: 1894
Bulk dates: 1894
This collection consists of the microfilm copy of a detailed report on the Pullman
Strike of 1894. It includes an introductory analysis of Eugene V. Debs, George W.
Howard, and a history of the American Railway Union. The report also recounts the
history of the events preceding the strike and relates a day-by-day narrative of the
strike. The report discusses officers and employees who were prominent in serving
the company during the strike. Finally, the report offers a statistical analysis of
the events, the strike's effect on business, and an essay discussing possible long-term
consequences of the strike. This report was written on behalf of a railroad company,
so there is a strong anti-labor bias throughout the report.
The microfilm has an Analytical Table of Contents on pp. i-v and an Index to Chief
Topics on pp. vi-x.
Introduction, pages 1-22
Daily Narrative, pages 23-122
Closing Scenes and Incidents, pages 123-134
Officers and Employees Prominent in Serving the Company, pages 135-149
Statistics, pages 150-194
General Remarks, pages 195-222
Photographs showing damage to railroad property:
"28th Street," one photograph following page 100
"59th Street Yard," three photographs between pages 126-127
A negative copy is available upon request. Collection was microfilmed on July 2, 1974
by Cornell's Photo Services from the original monograph, which was written in 1894.
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference
archivist for access to these materials.
This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and
Procedures for Document Use.
INFORMATION FOR USERS
J. F. Miller "Report to Joseph Wood, General Manager, Pennsylvania Lines West of Pittsburgh,
on the 1894 Strike of the American Railroad Union" (222 p) on Microfilm #5449 mf.
Kheel Center for Labor- Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University
Library.
Names:
Miller, J. F.
Wood, Joseph
Debs, Eugene V.
Howard, George W.
American Railway Union
Pennsylvania Lines West of Pittsburgh, South West System
Subjects:
Railroads--Employees--Labor unions--Pennsylvania
Strikes and lockouts--Railroads
Pullman Strike, 1894
CONTAINER LIST
Container
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Description
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Date
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Reel 1 | 1 |
J.F. Miller "1894 Strike of the American Railroad Union"
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Scope and Contents
positive
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