Page "Labor history of the United States" Paragraph 17

During the major economic depression of the early 1890s, the Pullman Palace Car Company cut wages in its factories.

Discontented workers joined the American Railway Union ( ARU ), led by Eugene V. Debs, which supported their strike by launching a boycott of all Pullman cars on all railroads.

ARU members across the nation refused to switch Pullman cars onto trains.

When these switchmen were disciplined, the entire ARU struck the railroads on June 26, 1894.

Within four days, 125, 000 workers on twenty-nine railroads had people quit work rather than handle Pullman cars.