Response to Wage Cut on Rail Workers
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Response to 1st classmate (Shannon’s) Point of View:
Even though the rail workers expressed their disgust with the wage cuts and unfair working conditions violently, I do not believe that they had another alternative to the strike action that they took. This is because the railroad owners made unilateral decisions to cut the wages of their workers at a time when the economic situation was dire. They never engaged in dialogue with the workers. Additionally, the labor movement was weak and the voice of the workers was not given the attention it deserved. In light of this, what other recourse did the rail workers have? How else would they have executed their plan? Even though the workers never achieved their objective of fair wages and decent working conditions in the short term, their strike laid the ground for further industrial action which ultimately forced the government to improve labor relations and gave birth to a more humane American workplace. In this sense therefore, the strike by the workers was not a failure; rather, it helped improve working conditions for workers all over the country.
Response to 2nd Classmate (Melissa’s) Point of View:
While it is true that the workers had the strongest argument, it is not absolutely true that the railroad companies were only after profits. The truth is that the railroad companies were also hurting from the economic situation in America during that period. Higher wages for the workers were not sustainable, would have brought the companies to their knees and led to many job losses. This would have been worse for the workers as they would even have lost the little wages that they were getting. I however agree with you that very little was learnt from the railroad strike of 1877 and that we need to learn from past mistakes and learn to love and care for each other.