From an 8-hour workday to Labor Day: Rail strikes that changed America

A national rail strike that could paralyze much of the economy ahead of the holidays could begin as early as Dec. 5, after members of a major railroad union narrowly rejected a White House-brokered deal, union officials announced Monday.

Rail strikes and the threat of them have played a key role in American history, helping to bring about the eight-hour workday, federal recognition of Labor Day, and the advancement of Black civil rights.

Here’s a look at how other rail strikes have changed America.

The Great Upheaval, 1877

The Great Upheaval began after four years of economic depression, in July 1877, when railroad bosses announced a 10 percent pay cut, the second in eight months.

Workers in Martinsburg, W.Va., responded by detaching train engines and barring them from moving.

The strike spread to Pittsburgh and then much of the Northeast, eventually involving about 100,000 workers.

Strikers rioted and burned train stations; about 100 were killed by militias and the National Guard.

The strike collapsed in weeks due to a lack of organization. In the end, they accomplished little.

The Pullman Strike, 1894

The Pullman Strike was a solidarity strike with the factory workers who manufactured Pullman Palace train cars.

Their boss, George Pullman, was also their landlord, and cut wages 25 percent while refusing to lower rents.

As many as 250,000 rail workers and switchmen responded by refusing to touch trains that included Pullman cars, paralyzing rail traffic west of Chicago.

This was the first strike ended by court injunction. Labor leader Eugene V. Debs was imprisoned as a result.

Most historians agree that President Grover Cleveland made Labor Day a federal holiday as a concession to strikers.

Adamson Act, 1916

President Woodrow Wilson signed the Adamson Act of 1916, establishing an eight-hour workday and overtime compensation for interstate railroad workers.

Unions representing 94 percent of railway workers were prepared to strike after railroad companies refused to grant an eight-hour workday — a key demand of the labor movement as a whole.

It is the first law regulating private-sector work hours. Companies challenged the law all the way to the Supreme Court but failed.

Railroad Shopmen’s Strike, 1922

By 1922, Congress had established a Railway Labor Board to mediate disputes between companies and unions. But when the board authorized a pay cut for railway shopmen (mechanics), they struck.

Many strikers wore their World War I military uniforms and carried signs reading: “We fought the world war so this country might live. Let us live.”

Companies aggressively countered the strikes, hiring private guards and nonunion “scab” workers. After two months, the strike collapsed; so did the labor board.

The Railway Labor Act of 1926, which strengthened arbitration procedures, passed in its aftermath.

Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, 1928

After the Civil War and Emancipation, the Pullman Co. hired thousands of Black workers to serve as porters on its luxurious train cars.

These jobs offered a measure of stability to Black men and their families, but hours were long, pay was low and porters endured a lot of indignities, like being called “George” by passengers, regardless of their actual names.

They unionized in 1925, led by civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph, and became the first major African American labor union. Black workers were barred from joining most other labor unions at the time.

The brotherhood threatened to strike in 1928 but ultimately didn’t.

In 1937, the company finally negotiated its first contract with the brotherhood, giving members the highest pay increase they had ever received.

Strike wave of 1945-1946

In the years following the end the of World War II, more than 4 million workers participated in strikes, including approximately 250,000 railway workers.

Largely protesting wage decreases, it is the closest the nation has come to a general strike.

In 1947, Congress responded by passing, over President Harry S. Truman’s veto, the Taft-Hartley Act, limiting the rights of labor unions to strike.

NYC transit strikes: 1966, 1980, 2005

New York City transit workers have struck three times, in 1966, 1980 and 2005, shutting down the subway (and buses).

Though it lasted 13 days and union leaders were jailed, the 1966 strike was considered a success by transit workers, who won most of their demands.

The 1980 strike was a failure.

The weather was better than in 1966, and Mayor Ed Koch encouraged people to commute by foot instead.

Women wearing business suits and sneakers were everywhere, a trend that persisted after the strike and became the quintessential look of the 1980s.

The 2005 strike lasted only two days — the weekend before Christmas, two of the busiest shopping days a year. Results were mixed; workers’ pensions were unchanged, but they won small pay increases and the right the use the restroom during a shift.

1992 U.S. Railroad strike

The 1992 strike included only CSX Transportation workers, but since rail lines were so interconnected, the effects of it quickly spread.

The White House said it cost the economy $1 billion a day — $2.1 billion in today’s value. After only two days, Congress invoked a little-used law to force an end to the strike.

With the current negotiations, some unions have ratified the White House deal. But since others have rejected it, all would likely strike together in solidarity. Unless Congress intervenes or a new deal is reached, a strike could begin as early as Dec. 5.

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Credits

Photo editing Monique Woo. Editing and production by Karly Domb Sadof.