Response Paper/Writing Assignment 1. The Great Upheaval: Response to Questions

Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Code/Title
Instructor
Date
The Great Upheaval: Response to Questions
Question #1
The wage cut that was induced by the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad Company upon its laborers was a significant burden for the employees to bear (Brecher 138). Many individual workers were going through the same misery of wage cut and yet the wage itself was very low. Most of the company workers complained about poor living standards and the difficulty of raising their families. Other grievances included poor diets that the workers were forced to have to sustain themselves. In my opinion, the wages were low for all workers and hence the strike provided the only opportunity for them to air their complaints. It appears that apart from the employees working in the railroad companies, other companies either offered low wages for their employees or exercised the same act of reducing the wages of their employees.
Similarly, it may have been a strategy put in place by the workers to work together in a unified manner by giving support to others during their time of crisis. Workers going through difficulties like the miners may have anticipated the idea of a strike soon and would have needed the support of other workers. To gain their support and trust, the employees had to join them in their strikes to increase their solidarity and bonding. The railroad employees would be expected to give them similar help in case they decided to go on strike. It was rather an employee strategy of winning the strike using large numbers and support from their fellow workers in other fields.
Question #2
Yes, class conflict is a common...