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Why were railroad switchmen important to the Pullman boycott?
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Pullman Strike
A shantytown on the lakefront in Chicago during the Pullman Strike and general economic downturn of 1893β94.
Railroad switchmen were essential to the success of the Pullman Strike and boycott because they held the strategic power to control the movement of trains. As members of the American Railway Union (ARU), switchmen were responsible for adding or removing Pullman Palace Car Company cars from trains.1
By refusing to handle these cars, switchmen could effectively halt rail traffic. Eugene V. Debs, the president of the ARU, anticipated that if the railroads fired these switchmen for their refusal to work, other union members would walk out in solidarity. This chain reaction was intended to force the railroads to sever their ties with the Pullman Company, thereby pressuring the company to submit the labor dispute to arbitration.1