Pullman Strike

The Pullman Strike in 1894 was one of the most significant events in US history that Debs was involved with. As the leader of the ARU, there were many workers that the Pullman Palace Car Company employed. This railway company made luxury train cars, and during the time of economic depression, many wages were cut. This led to a significant strike against the car company. The Pullman Strike was catastrophic to US infrastructure because it "paralyzed much of the commerce in the western half of the Nation before being broken by an alliance of railroad management and the full legal and military power of the Federal Government." ¹

However, the timing of the strike and boycott was unfortunate because the US economy was plummeting. This proved that the strike did not terribly affect the Pullman Car Company because they could afford the lack of employees. The boycott of Pullman by all ARU workers devastated the company.

When the boycott halted US mail, the government became involved with the strike. Around a thousand US Marshals and Army troops were deployed to break up the strike. The fighting between the troops and workers led to injury and death. Because of this, Eugene V Debs was arrested. 

The Pullman Strike of 1894 also proves to show the value of a dissenting opinion and the advocacy of Debs and union workers. The strike and boycott got national attention and stalled commerce. Although the ARU was defeated and the boycott ended, there was an understanding and incentives taken to find a peaceful way to manage labor disputes.

¹Constantine, J. Robert. "Eugene V. Debs: An American Paradox." Monthly Labor Review 114, no. 8 (1991): 30–33.