Question

What actions were the most successful? Which ones caused problems?

Answer 1

The correct answer to this open question is the following.

When talking about union strikes during the Gilded Age or the Progressive Era, many strikes ended up being battlefields where blood was spilled and the workers failed. However, some others provided positive results for the workforce.

For instance, in 1892 in Hersey, Pennsylvania, workers united and rebelled against Andrew Carnegie who was the owner of Carnegie Steel Company. These workers labored under harsh conditions and demanded better salaries. People were sent to break the strike and both sides fight each other. Police had to intervene and nothing good resulted from the rebellion.

Two years later, in 1894, the Pullman Railroad Company workers organized a strike to demand improvements in salary, working conditions, and the reduction of the hours at work. The pressure of the workers was so hight and they maintained unity to the degree they force a shut down of the railway system in the country. The federal government had to send soldiers to Chicago.