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Anti-union violence in the United States is physical force intended to harm union officials, union organizers, union members, union sympathizers, or their families. It has most commonly been used either during union organizing efforts, or during strikes. The aim most often is to prevent a union from forming, to destroy an existing union, or to reduce the effectiveness of a union or a particular strike action. If strikers prevent people or goods to enter or leave a workplace, violence may be used to allow people and goods to pass the picket line.
The Pittsburgh railway strike occurred in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as part of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. It was one of many incidents of strikes, labor unrest and violence in cities across the United States, including several in Pennsylvania. Other cities dealing with similar unrest included Philadelphia, Reading, Shamokin and Scranton. The incidents followed repeated reductions in wages and sometimes increases in workload by railroad companies, during a period of economic recession following the Panic of 1873.
When union violence has occurred, it has frequently been in the context of industrial unrest. Violence has ranged from isolated acts by individuals to wider campaigns of organised violence aimed at furthering union goals within an industrial dispute.
References
- 1 2 (1940) "Who's Who in Nebraska History". Retrieved 4/24/08.
- 1 2 Federal Writers Project. (1939) Nebraska. Nebraska State Historical Society. p 88.
- ↑ Olson, J.C. and Naugle, R.C. (1997) History of Nebraska. University of Nebraska Press. p 220.
- ↑ Morton, J.S., et al. (1918) History of Nebraska from the Earliest Explorations of the Trans-Mississippi. Western Publishing and Engraving Company. p 600.
- ↑ Federal Writers Project. (1939) p 88.
- ↑ Compendium of History Reminiscence & Biography of Western Nebraska . p 274. Retrieved 4/24/08.
- ↑ "The strike at Omaha", The New York Times. March 12, 1882. Retrieved 4/16/08.
- ↑ "The strike at Omaha; Laborers working under the protection of cannon and bayonets-Arrest of ringleaders in the strike," The New York Times. March 12, 1882. Retrieved 4/20/08.
- ↑ Smith, C.R. (1999) Silencing the Opposition: Government Strategies of Suppression. SUNY Press. p 136.