In the late 19th century
There were numerous incidents of protests in many parts of the United States. In some areas, including the Pullman, strikes progressed to a warlike scenario. The type of management style was the key reason why staff strikes became widespread in the late 19th century. The management style used during the time was strongly authoritarian. Employees have no right in the office to discuss the problem. Their role was to act and never to be seen. Employees served in poor circumstances and had several complaints that had to be dealt with. Unfortunately, the freedom to voice their complaints was not granted to them. Employers have never heard their workers' screams, and have never considered them serious if they did. This was a form of slavery since the rights of workers were being violated (Patel and Sejal 1-4).
Working Conditions and Strikes
Employees worked for long hours, and the pay was small. The working conditions were inhuman. Employers did not take care of their employees' welfare. The paper shows how strike became common in the 19th century be citing the case of Pullman and Homestead.
Pullman and Homestead Strikes
A critical examination of Pullman and Homestead case clearly indicate that the company was wrong in subjecting employees to inhuman conditions that made them more of slaves than employees. Employees of the Pullman Company went on strike since they were fed up with the unfair treatment. The Homestead striking of employees was highly justified. It reaches a point where people can no longer accommodate toxic treatment that endangers their life (Wittenbrink 19-22). An uprising is necessary to address injustice such as the one workers of Pullman were facing. Employers who never respected the right of their employees learned a good lesson from the Homestead strike. The strike played a critical role in changing the plan and paved the way for the new style of management in which bottom-up approaches are applied.
Works Cited
Patel, Pinank R., and Sejal S. Bhagat. "COMPANY TOWN." Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research. Vol. 2. No. 1 (February-2015). JETIR, 2015.
Wittenbrink, Benjamin. "Pullman: the Man, the Town, the Strike." InFlame Board (2016).