Burlington railroad strike of 1888

Burlington railroad strike of 1888
Strikers attacking strikebreaking switchmen and brakemen near the stockyards in Chicago.
DateFebruary 27 – December, 1888
Location
GoalsWage increase
MethodsStriking, sabotage
Resulted inStrikers laid off
                                                                      
Parties
Lead figures

Peter M. Arthur,
Frank P. Sargent

Henry B. Stone,
Charles Elliott Perkins

Casualties and losses
Killed: 2

The Burlington railroad strike of 1888 was a failed union strike which pitted the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (B of LE), the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen (B of LF), and the Switchmen's Mutual Aid Association (SMAA) against the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) its extensive trackage in the Midwestern United States. It was led by the skilled engineers and firemen, who demanded higher wages, seniority rights, and grievance procedures. It was fought bitterly by management, which rejected the very notion of collective bargaining. There was much less violence than the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, but after 10 months the very expensive company operation to permanently replace all the strikers was successful and the strike was a total defeat for them.[1]

  1. ^ Donald L. McMurry, The Great Burlington Strike of 1888: A Case History in Labor Relations (Harvard UP, 1956)

Developed by StudentB