Publisher's Synopsis
"History books tell us that America's railroads were built by the Robber Barons. The truth is they were built by workers, many of them immigrants forced to labor under near-slave conditions. Ever since, it has been workers who maintain the tracks and rolling stock and keep the railroads running. Yet railways are operated solely to boost the profits of their owners. Schedules and service have been slashed. The safety of workers and passengers alike is endangered as the rail bosses cut crew sizes, intensify the hours and pace of work, and allow tracks and equipment to deteriorate. Management and bondholders still loot the government treasury, just as when the rails were originally laid. This book tells the story of how the building of the railroads enriched America's ruling families. It recounts the struggles by rail workers for more than a century to unite in an industrial union powerful enough to defend their job conditions and wages against the rail bosses and against strikebreaking by private goons and federal and state officials. It explains why as long as the railroads are operated by capitalists-and the government is run by them to protect their interests-there will never be safe, convenient public transportation and freight services."
