2+Group+3+Strikes

media type="file" key="strikes.mp3"


 * Strikes** during the second industrial revolution happened a lot because of the bad working conditions for the working class.


 * The Haymarket Riot of 1886** to this day will always be remembered because of the reason for the rally. It was in support of the new 8-hour workday because at this time the workdays were 10-13 hours long for a little to nothing paycheck. Over an estimated 300,000 workers came to the McCormick Harvesting Co. on May 4th in support of the favored 8-hour workday. The rally was lead by August Spies who claimed that the rally was supposed to be peaceful but turned violent because of the strikebreakers that came in to replace defiant workers. Spies stated that this was just to inform the companies of the situation and the best interest of their workers. Anarchist threw a bomb at the police protecting the strikebreakers and gunshots were fired. Killing 7 officers, 4 workers and harming at least 60 officers.


 * Pullman Strike of 1894** started because of the 28% wage cut that 4,000 workers received during the economic panic of 1893. Wages were cut because the train car demands and their revenue dropped. The workers who were members of the ARU (American Railway Union) followed a boycott launched by the leader of the ARU Eugene V. Debs. The boycott was launched on June 26, 1894 where the members refused to run train cars that contained Pullman cars. Within 4 days of the beginning of the strike 125,000 workers on 29 different railroads quit rather than handle Pullman cars. Railroad companies began to hire strikebreakers to keep production going. Sympathy strikers attacked and threatened strikebreakers who replaced the workers on strike. U.S. Marshals were sent in to break up the Strike. Also about 12,000 Army Troops saying that the strike interfered with the U.S mail. The arrival of the troops caused the strike to become violent. Leaving 13 strikers’ dead, 57 wounded and $340,000 worth of property damage.(which equals 6,800,000 according to inflation in 2007). Eugene Debs was charged with conspiracy to obstruct the mail after a juror's illness but it was dropped because of his brilliant defense. He went to trial and eventually was charged with guilty of violating the court injunction.