coal industry, the sleeping-car porters were organized in the 1920s, and by the 1930s the United Auto Workers was organizing the car-manufacturing industry,” Guy said. “Within a few years the United Mine Workers began a westward sweep that organized virtually the entire U.S. Despite being prematurely snuffed out, however, the Pullman strike sparked tremendous growth in the American labor movement. The workers walked out, and railroad workers nationwide joined the action by cutting Pullman sleeping cars out of trains.įederal intervention ended the strike in 1894, and its leader, Eugene V. Pullman, Guy explained, responded to the panic by cutting his workers’ wages 25 per cent while continuing to charge them the same rent on his houses. Pullman ignored his workers so he could focus on his bottom line.” But when the financial panic of 1893 reduced demand for his sleeping cars, Mr. Pullman built to keep his workers happy, sober and loyal-and to make sure they didn’t try to join unions. “Historic Pullman is ground zero for rail labor,” said UTU Illinois Legislative Director Bob Guy. labor movement got its baptism of fire-the former company-owned Town of Pullman, where the famous Pullman sleeping cars were built, on Chicago’s South Side. WCPT talk-show host Dick Kay will serve as master of ceremonies.Īnd it all happens at the very spot where the U.S. Pat Quinn–praising the rise of the labor movement. It’ll be food, fun, music, historical exhibits and old-fashioned political oratory-led by Illinois Gov. on September 7, a grand mix of 20 labor unions, labor federations, civic organizations and historical associations will kick off an old-fashioned Labor Day fest. CHICAGO (Aug.18)–Have you ever attended a real Labor Day celebration-the kind where the beer and the barbecue are the supporting players and the rights of working people are the stars of the show?
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