-Denial of more than 1 bathroom break

- Resulted in many factory women urinating on the floor, adding to the    unsafe environment

Long Term

-Poor working conditions (exit doors locked during working hours)

-14 hour work days

Blame

Factory owners (Max Blanck and Isaac Harris): They ignored regulations and were very negligent when overseeing the safety of their workers, they were not convicted in court

Federal Government: The gov. was absent when it came to passing laws that regulated working conditions and safety regulations.

“The strikes have been put down by force; but now for the real remedy. Can't something [be] done by education of the strikers, by judicious control of the capitalists, by wise general policy to end or diminish the evil? The railroad strikers, as a rule, are good men, sober, intelligent, and industrious. The mischiefs are: —

1. Strikers prevent men willing to work from doing so.

2. They seize and hold the property of their employers.

3. The consequent excitement furnishes an opportunity for the dangerous criminal classes to destroy life and property.

Now, "every man has a right, if he sees fit to, to quarrel with his own bread and butter, but he has no right to quarrel with the bread and butter of other people." Every man has a right to determine for himself the value of his own labor, but he has no right to determine for other men the value of their labor. (Not good.)

Every man has a right to refuse to work if the wages don't suit him, but he has no right to prevent others from working if they are suited with the wages.” 

First national labor event in the United States. Started in Baltimore, Maryland and Martinsburg, West Virginia because of wage cuts. As company leaders fired strikers, more people joined in on the strike. There was lots of violence, in Baltimore strikers attacked militia troops. Many buildings were burned and people were hurt. Black and white workers participated in the strike together. President Hayes called out federal troops to end the strike. Women also had a role in this strike and convinced their husbands to not accept the pay cuts.  

Long Term:

• Highlighted how industrial was controlling the worker's lives. They lived in towns owned by the company and also had to live and shop in stores owned by the company. Their entire life was built based on the company.

• It also showed how the workers had no protection against monopoly corruption or labor exploitation. It also showed how the government did not care and sided with the businesses.

Blame: If anyone is to blame for the Pullman Palace Car Strike it should be the founder George Pullman. This is because the strike was a response to the poor working conditions that were put in place by George Pullman.

"Next followed the final shock—the Pullman strike—and the American Railway Union again won, clear and complete. The combined corporations were paralyzed and helpless."
— Eugene V. Debs, "How I Became a Socialist" (April, 1902)

Nellie Bly's Perspective

"As a reporter, Bly sided with the poor and the disenfranchised, as when she went to Chicago in 1894 to cover the Pullman Strike from the perspective of the strikers."
— Zinn Education Project

Eugene V. Debs Reflecting on the Class Struggle

"In the gleam of every bayonet and the flash of every rifle the class struggle was revealed."
— Eugene V. Debs, "How I Became a Socialist" (April, 1902)

• Factory workers of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory

• Mostly young immigrant women

• International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU)

What:

• A deadly fire occurred at the Factory, which killed over 140 people

When:

• Fire: March 25, 2011

• Strike: November 1909 to February 1910

Where:

• Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, NY

• Top floors of the Asch Building

Why:

• The fire spread quickly because of factors like locked doors, overcrowded spaces, and the lack of proper fire exits in the factory

• The strike was a protest against long work hours, low wages, and poor working conditions (locked exits in high-rise buildings)

Long-term causes:

• Exploitative labor conditions in coal mines.

• Lack of government regulation on labor rights.

• Rockefeller’s anti-union policies.

Blame:

1. The Colorado National Guard and CF&I company guards for excessive use of force.

2. John D. Rockefeller Jr., as CF&I's owner, for refusing to negotiate with miners.