Strikes/Worker conflicts

• 1877 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Strike (10% wage cut/longer trains)

• Violence erupts in many cities (170)– New era begins in labor relations

Blockade of RR cars in Martinsburg, West Virginia

1881-1900

• Strikes rock the nation- 24,000 in 20 years!

• Next day

Haymarket Riot

• Striking Workers fought with ‘scabs’ at the McCormack factory in Chicago – police intervene

• 8 hour day

• Protest rally set up for next day Haymarket Square

• Anarchists-(def)– Attend rally; support strikers

Haymarket description (u-s-history.com)

• On May Day 1886, the workers at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. in Chicago began a strike in the hope of gaining a shorter work day. On May 3, police were used to protect strikebreakers and a scuffle broke out; one person was killed and several others injured.

• The following day, May 4, a large rally was planned by anarchist leaders to protest alleged police brutality. A crowd of 20,000 demonstrators was anticipated at Haymarket Square, where area farmers traditionally sold their produce. Rain and unseasonable cold kept the numbers down to between 1,500 to 2,000. The gathering was peaceful until a police official, in contravention of the mayor's instructions, sent units into the crowd to force it to disperse. At that juncture, a pipe bomb was thrown into the police ranks; the explosion took the lives of seven policemen and injured more than 60 others. The police fired into the crowd of workers, killing four

• Bomb thrown killing 7 police officers; riot that followed injured dozens from both sides– 8 anarchists tried for murder- 4 hanged!– (convictions due to public outrage?- 3 later

pardoned!)

7 anarchists sentenced to life

• As a result, many Americans associate unions with radical ideas