Which U.S. labor leader led the American Railway Union during the 1894 Pullman Strike?

Eugene V. Debs led the American Railway Union during the 1894 Pullman Strike.

Debs had helped organize the American Railway Union, which brought workers from different railroad trades into one union. In 1894, the union supported employees of the Pullman Company after wage reductions and other grievances.

The union’s boycott of trains carrying Pullman cars spread widely. The federal government obtained an injunction against the boycott, and President Grover Cleveland sent troops to enforce the order and protect the movement of mail.

Debs was arrested for violating the injunction and later became a major socialist leader and presidential candidate. The Pullman conflict is connected to Labor Day’s federal recognition, but Debs did not create the holiday and the strike itself was not a Labor Day celebration.