Conditions in Pullman City
"The treatment we have received from the foreman of the Company has been worse than the slaves ever received in the south." ~Anonymous worker
"George Pullman put his stamp on everything he touched- the sleeping car he designed, the company he founded, and the workers he tried to control" ~ L. Altman
"Pullman's greatest failing was that he had imposed his own benefactions on his workers. He had failed to involve them directly, to call upon them for self-expression; he assumed that he knew their needs better than they did. He has lost the faculty by which he might perceive himself in the wrong." ~Jane Addams
Pullman made decisions without considering the effects on his workers. [Buder, Adelman]
"The men are hungry and the women and children are actually suffering. They have been living on charity for a number of months and it is exhausted." ~ John P. Altgeld
"We have been refused employment and have no means of leaving this
vicinity, and our families are starving."
~ Theodore Rohde, F.E. Pollans & L.J. Newell This thinking caused Pullman to make decisions detrimental to the well-being of his workers, especially in the case of wage reductions. Their wages were so low, they couldn't afford food or reasonable housing, which put their health at risk. [Huffman, Carwardine]
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Political cartoon courtesy of Viral Suppression
Political cartoon courtesy of Gus Fredrick
Photographs courtesy of the Newberry Library
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Reports courtesy of John Swinton & the Newberry Library
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Wages were cut up to 50% in response to the Crisis of 1893, an economic recession, yet the company's stock dividend remained consistent. Pullman spent thousands to renovate his own mansion, but the workers' own homes were cramped. What seemed to be a wealthy town was filled with people struggling to make ends meet. This ultimately fueled the Pullman Strike. [Swinton, Huffman]
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Workers' rights
"After deducting rent the men invariably had only from one to six dollars or so on which to live for two weeks. One man has a pay check in his possession of two cents after paying rent. ... He has it framed." ~Minister at Pullman Methodist-Episcopal Church
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"... controlled every aspect of their lives, treating them like serfs on a feudal estate."
~ Howard Zinn & Anthony Arnove |
"The company's claim that the workmen need not hire its tenements and can live elsewhere if they choose is not entirely tenable. The fear of losing work keeps them in Pullman as long as there are tenements unoccupied, because the company is supposed, as a matter of business, to give a preference to its tenants when work is slack." ~ U.S. Strike Commission Report, 1894
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Workers living in Pullman had limited rights. They were treated poorly, could not negotiate with their employers, and were coerced to seek housing in Pullman in order to receive preference in hiring. [Zinn, Arnove]
Photographs courtesy of the Chicago History Museum