How did rents in the Pullman company town affect workers after the wage cuts?

Following the economic depression that began in 1893, the Pullman Palace Car Company reduced worker wages by 25 percent but failed to lower the costs of rent, utilities, or goods within the company town of Pullman.12

Because the company required workers to pay rent immediately upon receiving their paychecks, the combination of reduced wages and static housing costs left many employees with almost no money to cover basic living expenses. This financial strain, which pushed many families toward starvation, was a primary driver of the Pullman Strike in 1894. It is a fundamental ethical principle that employers have a moral responsibility to ensure the welfare of their workers, particularly when those employers exercise total control over the housing and living conditions of their employees. By prioritizing shareholder dividends over the basic survival of his workforce, George M. Pullman failed to uphold this essential duty.21