Discussion point #1: "While reading the case study about the 1877 Railroad Strike you feel like you're living in that moment. Without a doubt the workers had the strongest argument. The railroad companies were making an enormous amount of money and were trying to get by with paying their workers the minimum amount they could get away with so they could have a greater profit. No working citizen deserves to be treated the way these railroad workers were treated, therefore their argument is far more valid than any argument the railroad company could have.
Any business should know the way they treat their workers will determine the efficiency of their workers. The railroad companies provided very poor working environments and lowered the pay of their workers multiple times, this being said the workers were being over worked and under paid in a very dangerous environment, so the workers had every right to go on strike against the railroad company. The workers were faced with very difficult situations as they were not able to provide for their families due to the pay cuts they were receiving.
Although the strike was bloody and many were killed or jailed and the strike didn't make a permanent change, it did bring up the question of labor conditions and wages for workers, which I believe helped shape the laws we have today regarding laborers in our country."
Discussion point #2:"The workers during this Railroad Strike were all desperate for more money. People in today's society also looks for money. The workers during this time were facing more working hours, increase in unemployment, and then the less amount of money they are receiving now. I honestly think that the Railroad Companies had the strongest argument. The Railroad Companies are the ones that give out the money and then also give the people the jobs that they desperately need. There were many economical problems that occurred during this time and made it much harder for the companies to be able to give the workers their pay. The amount of money that was coming into the companies were limited and then the companies were not able to give out the full payment that the workers deserved. However, the workers were lucky enough that they were not fired and lost their jobs. They could have been not getting any money at all. The workers should have accepted that there was an economical problem and that they were fortunate to be able to get a paying job to get at least a little money into their pockets. In the end the Companies had the upper hand in the argument because they were the ones in charge and also the ones that would be giving them the pay in the future. "