Many people are convinced that most American working-class people will never choose to support any labor-oriented party today. Looking back at the history of labor organizations in America, one can begin to understand this traditional opposition to unions or labor parties despite the benefits it may have provided. The workers themselves organize in order to gain a measure of respect, better their standard of living and achieve some stability in employment. They do not join unions to maintain the union or a union-based party.Even during the late 1800s, the American public viewed unions with mistrust and uncertainty. It appeared to the American people that the labor unions were fighting for better working conditions one minute, and the next it appeared that they were leading a revolution against business and government. The unions' contributions to society were often over-shadowed by the violence used to improve conditions that they felt were demeaning to the working class. These strikes were often peaceful, but sometimes they turned violent at Haymarket Square, Homestead, and with the Pullman Strike. This led the American pubic to believe that the Unions could not be trusted, and the public then supported government force to quell the Unions. The Pullman strike of 1894 was a strike where blood was shed forcing a government reaction. Eugene Debs, the leader of the American Railway Union, led 4,000 Pullman workers in a strike that caused rail traffic to cease in the west. This affected the flow of mail, which was a federal crime. This delay plunged the American people into havoc. The American public would not stand for such a delay. This caused our government to take a stand and defend the rights of the minority. President Grover Cleveland expressed his view of the events with the statement "If it takes the entire army and navy of the United States to delivered a postal card in Chicago, that card will be delivered. When the federal go...
