Misplaced Pages

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69-498: The board was established by the 1934 amendments to the Railway Labor Act of 1926 and is headed by a three-person panel of Presidential appointees. NMB programs provide an integrated dispute resolution process to meet the statutory objective of minimizing strikes and other work stoppages in the airline and railroad industries. The NMB's integrated processes specifically are designed to promote three statutory goals: Under

138-720: A committed advocate of socialism , helping in 1897 to launch the Social Democracy of America , a forerunner of the Socialist Party of America . He ran for president in 1900 for the first of five times as head of the Socialist Party ticket. Civil as well as criminal charges were brought against the organizers of the strike and Debs in particular, and the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision, In re Debs , that rejected Debs' actions. The Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld

207-519: A government-appointed Board of Mediation to attempt to resolve those disputes that board of adjustment could not. The RLA promoted voluntary arbitration as the best method for resolving those disputes that the Board of Mediation could not settle. Congress strengthened the procedures in the 1934 amendments to the Act, which created a procedure for resolving whether a union had the support of the majority of employees in

276-477: A lawful strike but may not, however, discharge them except for misconduct or eliminate their jobs to retaliate against them for striking. It is not clear whether the employer can discharge workers for striking before all of the RLA's bargaining and mediation processes have been exhausted. The employer must also allow strikers to replace replacements hired on a temporary basis and permanent replacements who have not completed

345-538: A legal, constitutional responsibility for the mail; however, getting the trains moving again also helped further his fiscally conservative economic interests and protect capital, which was far more significant than the mail disruption. His lawyers argued that the boycott violated the Sherman Antitrust Act , and represented a threat to public safety. The arrival of the military and the subsequent deaths of workers in violence led to further outbreaks of violence. During

414-548: A memorial obelisk in the San Francisco National Cemetery at the Presidio in honor of four soldiers of the 5th Artillery killed in a Sacramento train crash of July 11, 1894, during the strike. The train wrecked crossing a trestle bridge purportedly dynamited by union members. Graham's monument included the inscription, "Murdered by Strikers", a description he hotly defended. The obelisk remains in place. In

483-498: A number of lesser-known ministers also voiced support for workers and claimed that Christ would not neglect those who were suffering. Debs was arrested on federal charges, including conspiracy to obstruct the mail as well as disobeying an order directed to him by the Supreme Court to stop the obstruction of railways and to dissolve the boycott. He was defended by Clarence Darrow , a prominent attorney, as well as Lyman Trumbull . At

552-578: A particular "craft or class", while turning the Board of Mediation into a permanent agency, the National Mediation Board (NMB), with broader powers. Congress extended the RLA to cover airline employees in 1936. Unlike the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which adopts a less interventionist approach to the way the parties conduct collective bargaining or resolve their disputes arising under collective bargaining agreements,

621-449: A prominent leader—was split. The General Managers' Association of the railroads coordinated the opposition. Thirty people were killed in riots in Chicago alone. Historian David Ray Papke, building on the work of Almont Lindsey published in 1942, estimated another 40 were killed in other states. Property damage exceeded $ 80 million. The federal government obtained an injunction against

690-680: A strike by the American Railway Union (ARU) against the Pullman factory in Chicago in spring 1894. When it failed, the ARU launched a national boycott against all trains that carried Pullman passenger cars. The nationwide railroad boycott that lasted from May 11 to July 20, 1894 was a turning point for US labor law . It pitted the American Railway Union (ARU) against the Pullman Company ,

759-532: A subsidized press. Quit and remain firm. Commit no violence. American Railway Union will protect all, whether member or not when strike is off. Debs wanted a general strike of all union members in Chicago, but this was opposed by Samuel Gompers , head of the AFL, and other established unions, and it failed. United States Marshall John W. Arnold told those in Washington that “no force less than regular troops could procure

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828-475: A union claims to represent a carrier's employees. The NMB defines the craft or class of employees eligible to vote, which almost always extends to all of the employees performing a particular job function throughout the company's operations, rather than just those at a particular site or in a particular region. A union seeking to represent an unorganized group of employees must produce signed and dated authorization cards or other proof of support from at least 50% of

897-487: A union during employment), and required both sides to maintain the status quo during any arbitration proceedings and for three months after an award was issued. The arbitration procedures were rarely used. A successor statute, the Newlands Labor Act of 1913, which created the Board of Mediation, proved to be more effective. It was largely superseded when the federal government nationalized the railroads in 1917, after

966-420: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Railway Labor Act The Railway Labor Act is a United States federal law that governs labor relations in the railroad and airline industries. The Act, enacted in 1926 and amended in 1934 and 1936, seeks to substitute bargaining, arbitration , and mediation for strikes to resolve labor disputes. Its provisions were originally enforced under

1035-587: Is handled through the "Section 6" process, named for the section of the Act that describes the bargaining process. The railroad carriers have formed a coalition for national handling of Railway Labor Act bargaining under Section 6, named the National Carriers Conference Committee (NCCC). The railroad unions also form coalitions of various unions to increase bargaining power in the Section 6 process. Carriers may lawfully replace strikers engaged in

1104-489: Is now designated as an historic district, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . In 1894, in an effort to conciliate organized labor after the strike, President Grover Cleveland and Congress designated Labor Day as a federal holiday in contrast with the more radical May Day . Legislation for the holiday was pushed through Congress six days after the strike ended. Samuel Gompers, who had sided with

1173-518: The Esch–Cummins Act (Transportation Act of 1920). The RLB soon destroyed whatever moral authority its decisions might have had in a series of decisions. In 1921, it ordered a twelve percent reduction in employees' wages, which the railroads were quick to implement. The following year, when shop employees of the railroads launched a national strike , the RLB issued a declaration that purported to outlaw

1242-576: The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 . Congress later passed the Arbitration Act of 1888, which authorized the creation of arbitration panels with the power to investigate the causes of labor disputes and to issue non-binding arbitration awards. The Act was a complete failure since only one panel was ever convened under the Act: in the case of the 1894 Pullman Strike , it issued its report only after

1311-543: The advice and consent of the Senate , for terms of three years. The terms are staggered, so one term expires on July 1 every year. At the end of their term of office a member may continue to serve until a successor takes office, or they are themselves confirmed for another term. The board annually designates a member to act as chairman. Two members of the board constitutes a quorum. The current board members as of September 29, 2024: This United States government–related article

1380-495: The "rule of terror." In comparison to his $ 8,000 compensation as Attorney General, Olney had been a railroad attorney and had a $ 10,000 retainer from the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad. Olney got an injunction from circuit court justices Peter S. Grosscup and William Allen Woods (both anti-union) prohibiting ARU officials from "compelling or encouraging" any impacted railroad employees "to refuse or fail to perform any of their duties". Grosscup later remarked that he opposed

1449-527: The 30-day period has passed, either side is free to exercise self-help, unless the President authorizes a Presidential Emergency Board, which issues non-binding recommendations followed by another 30-day cooling off period. The US Congress also has the power to impose a contract, as they did for railroads in 2022 . The Board is composed of three members, nominated by the President of the United States , with

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1518-446: The ARU called a massive boycott against all trains that carried a Pullman car. It affected most rail lines west of Detroit and at its peak involved some 250,000 workers in 27 states. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) opposed the boycott because the ARU was trying to take its membership. The high prestige railroad brotherhoods of Conductors and Engineers were opposed to the boycott. The Fireman brotherhood—of which Debs had been

1587-513: The ARU then dissolved. Low wage, expensive rent, and the failing ideal of a utopian workers settlement were already a problem for the Pullman workers. Company towns , like Pullman, were constructed with a plan to keep everything within a small vicinity to keep workers from having to move far. Using company-run shops and housing took away competition leaving areas open to exploitation, monopolization, and high prices. These conditions were exacerbated by

1656-653: The ARU. The plan was to force the railroads to bring Pullman to compromise. Debs began the boycott on June 26, 1894. Within four days, 125,000 workers on twenty-nine railroads had " walked off " the job rather than handle Pullman cars. The railroads coordinated their response through the General Managers' Association, which had been formed in 1886 and included 24 lines linked to Chicago. The railroads began hiring replacement workers ( strikebreakers ), which increased hostilities. Many African Americans were recruited as strikebreakers and crossed picket lines, as they feared that

1725-518: The Board of Mediation, but they were later enforced under a National Mediation Board. In 1877, protests broke out in Martinsburg, West Virginia when the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) cut worker pay for the third time in a year. West Virginia Governor Henry M. Mathews sent militia under Colonel Charles J. Faulkner to restore order but was unsuccessful largely because of militia sympathies with

1794-509: The Constitution's prohibition in Article I, Section 9 against bills of attainder , because they are not a punishment for specific people. Pullman Strike Eugene V. Debs George Pullman ; Grover Cleveland The Pullman Strike was two interrelated strikes in 1894 that shaped national labor policy in the United States during a period of deep economic depression. First came

1863-487: The NLRA. The RLA categorizes all labor disputes as either "major" disputes, which concern the making or modification of the collective bargaining agreement between the parties, or "minor" disputes, which involve the interpretation or application of collective bargaining agreements. Unions can strike over major disputes only after they have exhausted the RLA's "almost interminable" negotiation and mediation procedures. They cannot, on

1932-559: The NLRA. The NMB can order a rerun election if it determines that either an employer or union has interfered with employees' free choice. Unlike the NLRA, which gives the NLRB nearly exclusive power to enforce the Act, the RLA allows employees to sue in federal court to challenge an employer's violation of the Act. The courts can grant employees reinstatement and backpay, along with other forms of equitable relief. At least one court has ruled that imposition of railroad contract terms does not violate

2001-486: The Panic of 1893.  George Pullman had reduced wages 20 to 30% on account of falling sales. However, he did not cut rents nor lower prices at his company stores, nor did he give any indication of a commensurate cost of living adjustment. The employees filed a complaint with the company's owner, George Pullman. Pullman refused to reconsider and even dismissed the workers who were protesting. The strike began on May 11, 1894, when

2070-472: The RLA specifies both (1) the negotiation and mediation procedures that unions and employers must exhaust before they may change the status quo and (2) the methods for resolving "minor" disputes over the interpretation or application of collective bargaining agreements. The RLA permits strikes over major disputes only after the union has exhausted the RLA's negotiation and mediation procedures and bars almost all strikes over minor disputes. The RLA also authorizes

2139-565: The Railway Labor Act, an airline or railroad union contract does not expire; it remains in force and amendable until a new contract is ratified by the union members or either side exercises "self-help," which could be a strike by employees or a lockout by management. Before this can happen, the NMB-appointed mediator must declare an impasse in negotiations, which starts a 30-day cooling off period, during which negotiations continue. Once

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2208-722: The US entered World War I . (See United States Railroad Administration .) The Adamson Act , enacted in 1916, provided workers with an eight-hour day at the same daily wage they had received previously for a ten-hour day, and it required time-and-a-half pay for overtime work. Another law enacted that year, amid increasing concerns about the war in Europe, gave US President Woodrow Wilson the power to "take possession of and assume control of any system of transportation" for transportation of troops and war material. Wilson exercised that authority on December 26, 1917. While Congress considered nationalizing

2277-622: The aftermath of the Pullman Strike, the ARU was disbanded and the state ordered the company to sell off its residential holdings. Many pullman workers would go on to join the AFL after the collapse of the ARU. Following the death of George Pullman(1897) the pullman company would be lead by Robert Todd Lincoln and Thomas Wickes would become the companies vice president. With this change the company would shift its focus away from its environmental strategy of having superior living and recreational accommodations to keep workers loyal, but would instead use

2346-444: The blame for the strikes on Altgeld. Media coverage was extensive and generally negative. News reports and editorials commonly depicted the strikers as foreigners who contested the patriotism expressed by the militias and troops involved, as numerous recent immigrants worked in the factories and on the railroads. The editors warned of mobs, aliens, anarchy , and defiance of the law. The New York Times called it "a struggle between

2415-568: The boycott, most notably Reverend Englebert C. Oggel pastor of the Presbyterian church in Pullman. Oggel voiced his opposition to the strikes and supported the recent actions of George Pullman. In response, members of the congregation left in large numbers. Conversely, Reverend William H. Cawardine, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Pullman, was a well-known supporter of the ARU and the striking workers. In addition to Cawardine,

2484-470: The boycott. Federal forces broke the ARU's attempts to shut down the national transportation system city by city. Thousands of US Marshals and 12,000 US Army troops, led by Brigadier General Nelson Miles , took part in the operation. After learning that President Cleveland had sent troops without the permission of local or state authorities, Illinois Governor John Altgeld requested an immediate withdrawal of federal troops. President Cleveland claimed that he had

2553-442: The companies saw it as civil war, while the ARU proclaimed it was a crusade for the rights of unskilled workers. President Cleveland did not think Illinois Governor John Peter Altgeld could manage the strike as it continued to cause more and more physical and economic damage. Altgeld's pro-labor mindset and social reformist sympathies were viewed by outsiders as being a form of ‘German Socialism’. Critics of Altgeld worried that he

2622-506: The conspiracy trial Darrow argued that it was the railways, not Debs and his union, that met in secret and conspired against their opponents. Sensing that Debs would be acquitted, the prosecution dropped the charge when a juror took ill. Although Darrow also represented Debs at the United States Supreme Court for violating the federal injunction, Debs was sentenced to six months in prison. Early in 1895, General Graham erected

2691-509: The course of the strike, 30 strikers were killed and 57 were wounded. Property damage exceeded $ 80 million. The strike affected hundreds of towns and cities across the country. Railroad workers were divided, for the old established Brotherhoods, which included the skilled workers such as engineers, firemen and conductors, did not support the labor action. ARU members did support the action, and often comprised unskilled ground crews. In many areas, townspeople and businessmen generally supported

2760-419: The courts to enjoin strikes if the union has not exhausted those procedures. On the other hand, the RLA imposes fewer restrictions on the tactics that unions may use when they do have the right to strike. The RLA, unlike the NLRA, allows secondary boycotts against other RLA-regulated carriers and permits employees to engage in other types of strikes, such as intermittent strikes, that might be unprotected under

2829-595: The craft or class. A party attempting to oust an incumbent union must produce evidence of support from a majority of the craft or class and then the NMB must conduct an election. If the employees are unrepresented and the employer agrees, the NMB may certify the union based on the authorization cards alone. The NMB usually uses mail ballots to conduct elections, unlike the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which has historically preferred walk-in elections under

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2898-555: The economic hardships he created for workers in the town of Pullman. "The aesthetic features are admired by visitors, but have little money value to employees, especially when they lack bread." The State of Illinois filed suit, and in 1898 the Illinois Supreme Court forced the Pullman Company to divest ownership in the town, as its company charter did not authorize such operations. The town was annexed to Chicago. Much of it

2967-568: The factory workers who built Pullman cars lived in the " company town " of Pullman just outside of Chicago. Pullman was designed as a model community by its namesake founder and owner George Pullman . Jennie Curtis who lived in Pullman was president of seamstress union ARU LOCAL 269 gave a speech at the ARU convention urging people to strike. As the Panic of 1893 weakened much of the economy, railroad companies ceased purchasing new passenger cars made by Pullman. The company laid off workers and reduced

3036-454: The greatest and most important labor organization and the entire railroad capital." President Cleveland and the press feared that the strike would foment anarchy and social unrest. Cleveland demonized the ARU for encouraging an uprising against federal authority and endangering the public. The large numbers of immigrant workers who participated in the strike further stoked the fears of anarchy. In Chicago, some established church leaders denounced

3105-587: The involvement of the judiciary system as he believed labor disputes to be a “partisan action”. After hearing the injunction was put in place, railway operators telegrammed Olney to request their own injunction in anticipation of strikes. The injunction was disobeyed by Debs and other ARU leaders, in a telegraph to the western ARU branch, Debs responded "It will take more than injunctions to move trains, get everybody out. We are gaining ground everywhere". After handing out injunctions to other states, federal forces were dispatched to enforce it. Debs had been hesitant to start

3174-415: The main railroads, the main labor unions, and the federal government of the United States under President Grover Cleveland . The strike and boycott shut down much of the nation's freight and passenger traffic west of Detroit , Michigan. The conflict began in Chicago, on May 11 when nearly 4,000 factory employees of the Pullman Company began a wildcat strike in response to recent reductions in wages. Most of

3243-420: The other hand, strike over minor disputes, either during the arbitration procedures or after an award is issued. The federal courts have the power to enjoin a strike over a major dispute if the union has not exhausted the RLA's negotiation and mediation procedures. The Norris-LaGuardia Act dictates the procedures that the court must follow. Once the NMB releases the parties from mediation, however, they retain

3312-403: The passage of mail trains or enforce the orders of federal court”. Federal troops were dispatched and arrived in Chicago the night of July 3rd. Debs first welcomed the military, believing that they would help to keep the peace and allow the strike and boycott to continue peacefully. The military was not, however, impartial; they were there to ensure that the trains ran, which would eventually weaken

3381-420: The people against aggression and oppressive corporations," he said party leaders were "the pliant tools of the codfish monied aristocracy who seek to dominate this country." Billings remained quiet but, on July 10, soldiers reached Lockwood, Montana , a small rail center, where the troop train was surrounded by hundreds of angry strikers. Narrowly averting violence, the army opened the lines through Montana. When

3450-422: The power to engage in strikes or lockouts, even if they subsequently resume negotiations or the NMB offers mediation again. The federal courts likewise have the power to enjoin a union from striking over arbitrable disputes, that is minor disputes. The court may, on the other hand, also require the employer to restore the status quo as a condition of any injunctive relief against a strike. Major dispute bargaining

3519-407: The racism expressed by the American Railway Union would lock them out of another labor market. This added racial tension to the union's predicament. On June 29, 1894, Debs hosted a peaceful meeting to rally support for the strike from railroad workers at Blue Island, Illinois . Afterward, groups within the crowd became enraged and set fire to nearby buildings and derailed a locomotive. Elsewhere in

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3588-468: The railroads on a permanent basis after the war, the Wilson administration announced that it was returning the railroad system to its owners. However, Congress tried to preserve, the most successful features of the federal wartime administration, which were the adjustment boards, by creating a Railroad Labor Board (RLB) with the power to issue nonbinding proposals for the resolution of labor disputes, as part of

3657-590: The railroads, while farmers—many affiliated with the Populists —supported the ARU. In Billings, Montana , an important rail center, a local Methodist minister, J. W. Jennings, supported the ARU. In a sermon, he compared the Pullman boycott to the Boston Tea Party , and attacked Montana state officials and President Cleveland for abandoning "the faith of the Jacksonian fathers." Rather than defending "the rights of

3726-428: The rest of his staff went on strike. This strike would end by the president sending U.S. troops to break up the scene. Many of the Pullman factory workers joined the American Railway Union (ARU), led by Eugene V. Debs , which supported their strike by launching a boycott in which ARU members refused to run trains containing Pullman cars. At the time of the strike approximately 35% of Pullman workers were members of

3795-485: The significance of the strike, many state agencies and non-profit groups are hoping for many revivals of the Pullman neighborhoods starting with Pullman Park, one of the largest projects. It was to be a $ 350 million mixed used development on the site of an old steel plant. The plan was for 670,000 square feet of new retail space, 125,000 square foot neighborhood recreation center and 1,100 housing units. Following his release from prison in 1895, ARU President Debs became

3864-650: The strike ended, the railroads fired and blacklisted all the employees who had supported it. In California, the boycott was effective in Sacramento , a labor stronghold, but weak in the Bay Area and minimal in Los Angeles . The strike lingered as strikers expressed longstanding grievances over wage reductions, and indicated how unpopular the Southern Pacific Railroad was. Strikers engaged in violence and sabotage;

3933-519: The strike had been ended by a federal court injunction , backed by federal troops. Congress attempted to correct the shortcomings in the Erdman Act , enacted in 1898. The Erdman Act likewise provided for voluntary arbitration but made any award issued by the panel binding and enforceable in federal court. It also outlawed discrimination against employees for union activities, prohibited " yellow dog contracts " (in which an employee agreed not to join

4002-480: The strike, and the US Department of Justice obtained an injunction that carried out that declaration. From then on, railway unions refused to have anything to do with the RLB. The RLA was the product of negotiations between the major railroad companies and the unions that represented their employees. Like its predecessors, it relied on boards of adjustment, established by the parties, to resolve labor disputes, with

4071-428: The strike, due to his worry that violence would undermine the strikes progress as well as provide reason for military intervention. Despite these worries, Debs decided to put all of his efforts into the strike. He called on ARU members to ignore the federal court injunctions and the U.S. Army: Strong men and broad minds only can resist the plutocracy and arrogant monopoly. Do not be frightened at troops, injunctions, or

4140-479: The strikers and stopped the Chicago Police from interfering before the strike turned violent. Governor Altgeld, a Democrat, denounced Cleveland and said he could handle all disturbances in his state without federal intervention. The press took the side of Cleveland and framed strikers as villains, while Mayor Hopkins took the side of strikers and Altgeld. The New York Times and Chicago Tribune placed much of

4209-437: The town of Pullman for more industrial purposes building storage and repair shops in place of fields. While the Pullman company continued to grow, monopolizing the train car industry, the town of Pullman struggled with deteriorating housing and cramped living spaces. It remained the area's largest employer before closing in the 1950s. The area is both a National Historic Landmark as well as a Chicago Landmark District. Because of

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4278-411: The training required before they can become active employees. The employer may, on the other hand, allow less senior employees who crossed the picket line to keep the jobs they were given after crossing the line, even if the seniority rules in effect before the strike would have required the employer to reassign their jobs to returning strikers. The NMB has the responsibility for conducting elections when

4347-467: The union, Debs, and other boycott leaders, ordering them to stop interfering with trains that carried mail cars. After the strikers refused, President Grover Cleveland ordered in the Army to stop the strikers from obstructing the trains. Violence broke out in many cities, and the strike collapsed. Defended by a team including Clarence Darrow , Debs was convicted of violating a court order and sentenced to prison;

4416-408: The wages of retained workers. Among the reasons for the strike were the absence of democracy within the town of Pullman and its politics, the rigid paternalistic control of the workers by the company, excessive water and gas rates, and a refusal by the company to allow workers to buy and own houses. They had not yet formed a union. Founded in 1893 by Eugene V. Debs , the American Railway Union (ARU)

4485-502: The western states, sympathy strikers prevented transportation of goods by walking off the job, obstructing railroad tracks, or threatening and attacking strikebreakers. This increased national attention and the demand for federal action. The strike was handled by US Attorney General Richard Olney , who was appointed by President Grover Cleveland . A majority of the president's cabinet in Washington, D.C., backed Olney's proposal for federal troops to be dispatched to Chicago to put an end to

4554-740: The workers. The governor reluctantly called for federal assistance, which restored peace to Martinsburg but proved to be controversial, with many newspapers critical of the governor's characterization of the strikes as an "insurrection", rather than an act of desperation. One notable paper recorded a striking worker's perspective that he "had might as well die by the bullet as to starve to death by inches." A day after federal troops had restored order in Martinsburg, similar protests erupted in Maryland and spread to New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Missouri. The strikes, which lasted six weeks, would come to be known as

4623-482: Was an organization of railroad workers. Debs brought in ARU organizers to Pullman and signed up many of the disgruntled factory workers. When the Pullman Company refused recognition of the ARU or any negotiations, ARU called a strike against the factory, but it showed no sign of success. To win the strike, Debs decided to stop the movement of Pullman cars on railroads . The over-the-rail Pullman employees (such as conductors and porters) did not go on strike. Debs and

4692-487: Was incensed at Cleveland for putting the federal government at the service of the employers, and for rejecting Altgeld's plan to use his state militia rather than federal troops to keep order. Cleveland's administration appointed a national commission to study the causes of the 1894 strike; it found George Pullman's paternalism partly to blame and described the operations of his company town to be "un-American". The report condemned Pullman for refusing to negotiate and for

4761-514: Was usually on the side of the workers. Outsiders also believed that the strike would get progressively worse since Altgeld, "Knew nothing about the problem of American evolution." Public opinion was mostly opposed to the strike and supported Cleveland's actions. Republicans and eastern Democrats supported Cleveland (the leader of the northeastern pro-business wing of the party), but southern and western Democrats as well as Populists generally denounced him. Chicago Mayor John Patrick Hopkins supported

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