![]() The report condemned Pullman for refusing to negotiate and for the economic hardships he created for workers in the town of Pullman. A national commission formed to investigate the causes of the strikes found that Pullman's paternalism was partly to blame and labelled it "un-American". ![]() Despite this, the company refused to lower rents in the town or the price of goods at its shops, thus resulting in the Pullman Strike of 1894. The town operated successfully until the economic panic of 1893, when demand for the company's products declined, and Pullman lowered employee wages and hours to offset the decrease in demand. Employees were not required to live in Pullman, although workers tended to get better treatment if they chose to live in the town. The town, entirely company-owned, provided housing, markets, a library, churches and entertainment for the 6,000 company employees and an equal number of dependents. Ultimately, this political climate caused resentment amongst workers and resulted in many residents eventually losing long-term affection for their towns such was the case at Pullman.Īlthough many small company towns existed in mining areas of Pennsylvania before the American Civil War, one of the largest, and most substantial early company towns in the United States was Pullman, developed in the 1880s just outside the Chicago city limits. Accordingly, workers often had no say in local affairs, and therefore felt dictated to. Īlthough economically successful, company towns sometimes failed politically due to a lack of elected officials and municipally owned services. Additionally, for-profit shops within company towns were usually owned by the company, which were unavoidable to its isolated workers, thus resulting in a monopoly for the owners. Accordingly, the company town offered a unique opportunity to achieve such ends.Īlthough many prominent examples of company towns portray their founders as "capitalists with a conscience", for example, George Cadbury's Bournville, if viewed cynically, the company town was often an economically viable ploy to attract and retain workers. Paternalism was considered by many nineteenth-century businessmen as a moral responsibility, or often a religious obligation, which would advance society whilst furthering their own business interests. Paternalism, a subtle form of social engineering, refers to the control of workers by their employers who sought to force middle-class ideals upon their working-class employees. Without a source of employment, the communities lose property value and population as people leave to find work elsewhere. However, if the primary company experiences hardship or fails outright, or the industry fades in importance – such as when anthracite mining declined due to dependence on steam locomotives to spur demand – the economic effect on the company town can be devastating. Similar dependencies may exist in specific neighborhoods or areas within larger cities.Ĭompany towns often become regular public cities and towns as they grow and attract other settlement, business enterprises, and public transportation and services infrastructure. The company may also donate a church building to a local congregation, operate parks, host cultural events such as concerts, and so on.Ī town that existed prior to the establishment of a primary business may not officially be a company town, but if the majority of citizens are employed by a single company, similar conditions may exist (especially in regard to the town's economy). Typically, a company town is isolated from neighbors and centered on a large production factory, such as a lumber or steel mill or an automobile plant, and the citizens of the town either work in the factory, in one of the smaller businesses, or are a family member of someone who does. ![]() ![]() In the Soviet Union there were several cities of nuclear scientists ( atomics) known as atomgrad particularly in Ukraine those were Pripyat, Varash, Yuzhnoukrainsk among others. Since company stores often had a monopoly in company towns, it was often possible to pay in scrip through a truck system, although not all company towns engaged in this particular practice. Dam sites and war-industry camps founded other company towns. Traditional settings for company towns were where extractive industries – coal, metal mines, lumber – had established a monopoly franchise.
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