How did the Pullman Strike increase the use of court injunctions against labor strikes?

The Pullman Strike significantly increased the use of court injunctions against labor strikes by establishing a legal precedent for federal intervention in industrial disputes. During the 1894 strike, federal authorities secured a sweeping injunction that prohibited union leaders from communicating with strikers or inducing employees to stop their work, effectively crippling the American Railway Union’s ability to organize.123

The subsequent Supreme Court case, In re Debs, unanimously upheld this use of the injunction. By ruling that the federal government had the authority to protect interstate commerce and mail delivery, the Court significantly expanded the "equity jurisdiction" of federal courts. This decision provided a powerful tool for the government and business interests to suppress labor movements, as it allowed courts to label strike activities as obstructions to public rights. For the next 40 years, this precedent encouraged courts to act as partners to business interests in limiting the effectiveness of strikes until the passage of the Norris-La Guardia Act in 1932.2