justabean_reads's review
dark
informative
sad
fast-paced
4.0
Engaging and interesting overview of the Pullman/Railway strike of the 1890s, mostly in Illinois. It was the closest the US ever came to a general labour action. The author is pretty blatantly pro-union, so we can be bros there, but I think it would be hard not to be in this story.
I'd heard in general terms about the unholy corporate-government alliance to suppress workers' rights during this period, but some of the details were quite shocking in how blatantly avaricious it all was.
That said, the book also covers the missteps the union made, including excluding the Pullman Porters based on race, and I'd say it's a good look into how labour movements, railways, and corporate culture worked in that period generally.
I'd heard in general terms about the unholy corporate-government alliance to suppress workers' rights during this period, but some of the details were quite shocking in how blatantly avaricious it all was.
That said, the book also covers the missteps the union made, including excluding the Pullman Porters based on race, and I'd say it's a good look into how labour movements, railways, and corporate culture worked in that period generally.
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