George Pullman was an engineer known for designing the sleeping car, a train car with beds to accommodate sleeping passengers. He is also known for founding a company town for the workers who built the train cars. In addition, Pullman hired African Americans as porters and maids on the trains and they became known for the elite service they provided.
In 1893, America experienced an economic downturn, commonly known as the Panic of 1893. This hurt Pullman's business and the next year he lowered the wages of his employees without lowering the price of rent or other goods sold in his company town. This sparked a strike started by employees of Pullman and eventually spread across the country to disrupt train service. The strike turned violent and the Army was called in to suppress it.
By the 1920s, the Pullman company employed a large number of African Americans and paid them well enough that they were considered middle class within their own community. However, porters depended on tips from the white train passengers to make up most of their income and could not be promoted to conductor. While they could ride the rides on their days off at half price, they were prohibited from riding in a Pullman car. In 1925, many Pullman Porters met and decided to organize, with a leader who was not employed by the company. That night, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was born, the first predominantly African American labor union, led by union organizer and civil rights pioneer A. Philip Randolph.
"This site is at the heart of what would become America's labor movement and as a consequence at the heart of what would become America's middle class," said President Obama when he created the Pullman National Monument.
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