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How did the Pullman car boycott work on railroad trains?
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Pullman Strike
A shantytown on the lakefront in Chicago during the Pullman Strike and general economic downturn of 1893–94.
The boycott of Pullman Palace Car Company cars was organized by the American Railway Union (ARU) to support striking factory workers. The strategy functioned through the following actions on the nation's rail network:
- Refusal to Handle: ARU members, particularly switchmen, refused to hitch Pullman cars to trains or to move any train that included them.1
- Uncoupling: Workers actively unhitched Pullman cars that were already attached to trains.1
- Solidarity Walkouts: When railroads fired union members for refusing to handle the cars, other union workers walked off the job in solidarity. This cascading effect paralyzed rail traffic across 29 railroads west of Chicago, as the number of strikers grew to approximately 125,000–250,000.21
The boycott aimed to force the Pullman Company to submit to arbitration regarding wage cuts and poor living conditions. However, the disruption of rail traffic—specifically the interference with U.S. mail trains—eventually led to federal intervention and the use of an injunction to break the strike.213