Topic: This article is about The Great Railroad Strike of 1877. In an outraged response to job
cuts and wages being reduced by 10% twice in just two years, railroad workers prevented
railroads from operating in a strike that would quickly spread to other cities.
Relevant Information Included Related to the Topic: President of the Pennsylvania Railroad
(PRR) demanded Pittsburgh city police and local units of the National Guard of Pennsylvania to
provide protection of railroad property, both of which showed support to strikers by refusing his
request. The president of PRR sought protection from the Philadelphia National Guard after this,
which resulted in a series of deaths and casualties. When strikers decided to trap soldiers in a
burning building, the soldiers responded by shooting into the crowds in order to gain safety, but
this only urged strikers to riot more. The riot led to 39 burned or damaged buildings, including
the Union Station.
Information Missing: The information missing in this article is the context of the railroad
officials’ agreement to “negotiate all grievances”. They implied higher pay in a better economy,
but there were never any actual solutions suggested for so many people being laid off. The article
also never explained what the business actually did to meet workers’ needs or grievances.
Suggestions for Moving Forward:
1. Pay attention and listen to workers’ requests in an attempt to compromise.
2. Hire and assign management that cares more for employees than the free market.
3. Consider employee safety, as well as general public safety, before resorting to violence.
Recommendation you would make: I would choose the first recommendation. Workers’
weren’t asking for a lot in regards to compensation, especially from a company that was already
making millions of dollars in profit. If management had been open to listening, violence and
death could have been avoided.
Pros and Cons of Recommendation:
Pros Cons
Workers would feel valued if management
was willing to at least listen
Management might give false hope and
“listen” to workers just to make issues go
away
Management would gain better perspective of
problems from workers’ insights
Management won’t always have satisfactory
solutions to workers’ demands
The violent riots and excessive damage to
properties could have potentially been
avoided
Management would have to carve out extra
time to be able to even have these
conversations
