Pullman Company

The Pullman Company, owned by George Pullman, manufactured railroad train cars in the mid to late 1800s through the early decades of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Pullman developed the sleeping car which carried his name into the 1980s.

Once a household name due to their large market share, they are also known for the bitter Pullman Strike staged by their workers in 1893.

They are also remembered for the Pullman Porters, attendants of the sleeping cars. The Pullman Company hired African Americans for this position. While still a menial job in many respects, it offered better pay and security than most jobs open to African Americans at the time, in addition to a chance for travel, and was a well regarded job in the African-American community of the time. Pullman porters were unionized in the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters