Below are inspirational quotes from labor leaders, politicians,
authors, and activists regarding the Labor Movement.
"You see, Dr. King understood that it is organizing that makes us
most human. He knew that when we use our social nature to lift each
other up, we express our full humanity. We don't realize our
potential in life the way corporate America and their media tells us
-- not by pushing others aside or crawling over anyone else's back
or kissing somebody's a**, but by linking arms and lifting everyone,
everyone's family, everyone's kids, everyone's standard of living.
And so today, my brothers and sisters, we are confronted by his
memory. We are called by his struggle. We are challenged by his
sacrifice."
"They have waged class war on us. It is time for our class to fight
back. It's time for us to reach out to one another to fight for the
right to organize, to fight corporations that would fight us, to
demand that trade agreements protect workers and workers' rights,
children, our environment, and our quality of life, and to fight for
human dignity."
"When you say fiscal responsibility, it seems to me that you really
mean rich people keeping their money."
"I tell people the hell with charity, the only thing you'll
get is what you're strong enough to get."
"Power goes to two poles -- to those who've got the money and those
who've got the people."
"Yes, you need the water. Yes, you need the sun. But that alone
won't give you the plant. You need the working hands to give it
life."
"Silence never won rights. They are not handed down from above;
they are forced by pressures from below."
"If you saw tonight's debate, you saw Governor Sarah Palin give a
spirited defense of the same disastrous polices that have failed us
for the past eight years. She couldn't identify a single area where
she or John McCain would change George W. Bush's economic
or foreign policy positions... Let's be clear: Governor Palin and
Senator McCain are offering nothing but more of the same failed Bush
policies at home and abroad, trying to disguise them in the rhetoric
of change... Americans need real solutions and real change... This
is the most important presidential election you'll be part of in
your life... Now let's get to work and change this country."
"When employers in this country say labor costs are too high, what
they're really saying to you is, you have it too good. What they're
really saying to you is, all you need is enough to get you into the
plant and work."
"People at Bear Stearns get tens of millions for doing a terrible
job at manipulating financial markets. And people get minimum wage
for taking care of our grandparents."
"We are not complaining about the work. We want to see our hard
work reflected in our pay."
"We can either have democracy in this country or we can have great
wealth concentrated in the hands of a few; but we can't have
both."
"Labor cannot stand still. It must not retreat. It must go on, or
go under."
"The most important word in the language of the working class is
solidarity."
"Those unions that enjoy the right to strike have no guarantee that
sacrificing their jobs and their livelihood will result in victory
but they nevertheless engage in lengthy strikes, not because they
are assured of winning but because they are determined to
fight."
"The history of America has been largely created by the deeds of
its working people and their organizations. Nor has this
contribution been confined to raising wages and bettering work
conditions; it has been fundamental to almost every effort to extend
and strengthen our democracy."
"You are never strong enough that you don't need help."
"If you object to unfair treatment, you're an ingrate. If you seek
equity and fair consideration, you're uppity. If you demand union
security, you're un-American. If you rebel against repressive
management attacks, they will lynch and scalp you. But if you are
passive and patient, they will take advantage of both."
"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To
cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the
real spirit of Christmas."
"With all their faults, trade unions have done more for humanity
than any other organization of men (and women) that ever existed.
They have done more for decency, for honesty, for education, for the
betterment of the race, for the developing of character in men (and
women) than any other association."
"Solidarity is not a matter of sentiment but a fact, cold and
impassive as the granite foundations of a skyscraper. If the basic
elements, identity of interest, clarity of vision, honesty of
intent, and oneness of purpose, or any of these is lacking, all
sentimental pleas for solidarity, and all other efforts to achieve
it will be barren of results."
"Ten thousand times the labor movement has stumbled and bruised
itself. We have been enjoined by the courts, assaulted by thugs,
charged by the militia, traduced by the press, frowned upon in
public opinion, and deceived by politicians. But not withstanding
all this and all these, labor is today the most vital and potential
power this planet has ever known, and its historic mission is as
certain of ultimate realization as is the setting of the sun."
"I seek to rise with workers, not rise from them."
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men (and women)
are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain inalienable Rights, that among those are Life, Liberty, and
the pursuit of Happiness."
"On health care it's nothing new from Mitt Romney - he supports our
law when it suits him and runs away from it when it suits his
political ambition. His vetoes gutted the very essence of the
bill, and if his ideas stood, the number of uninsured in
Massachusetts would have only grown. It's fairer to say our
bill, with the hallmark provision of shared responsibility
from individuals, employers and providers, became law despite Mitt
Romney, not because of him."
"The only effective answer to organized greed is organized
labor."
"Power concedes nothing without a demand; it never has and it never
will."
"The cost of liberty is less than the cost of repression."
"We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big
difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which,
over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot
foresee."
"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."
"For last year's words belong to last year's language and next
year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a
beginning."
"Freedom of speech and freedom of action are meaningless without
freedom to think."
"We paid the price to get here. We'll pay the price to stay."
"Time is the most valuable thing on earth: time to think, time to
act, time to extend our fraternal relations, time to become better
men, time to become better women, time to become better and more
independent citizens."
Labor Day "...the day for which the toilers in past centuries
looked forward, when their rights and their wrongs would be
discussed...that the workers of our day may not only lay down their
tools of labor for a holiday, but upon which they may touch
shoulders in marching phalanx and feel the stronger for
it."
"The trade union movement represents the organized economic power
of the workers... It is in reality the most potent and the most
direct form of social insurance the workers can
establish."
"Our movement is of the working people, for the working people, by
the working people."
"Labor Day differs in every essential way from other holidays
of the year in any country. All other holidays are in a more or less
degree connected with conflict and battles of man's prowess over
man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved
by one nation over another. Labor Day is devoted to no man, living
or dead, to no sect, race or nation."
"You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental
recession. We've sort of become a nation of whiners... You just hear
this constant whining, complaining... We've never had more natural
advantages than we have today...We have benefited greatly from the
globalization of the economy in the last 30 years."
"Some men rob you with a six-gun -- others rob you with a
fountain pen."
"One preventable death is unacceptable; the 76 workplace deaths of
2006 represent not only great personal suffering for loved ones but
also signify that we are not making enough progress for all workers.
No progress is no good. Our fight for good jobs, safe jobs and
worker protections will continue until all workers are able to go to
work and return home with their lives, their limbs and their health
in tact."
"This is a great holiday if you think about it. All these people in
this park are all working people and we're celebrating their
contributions, all the good things they do. They built this economy.
They built this society. It's good to honor working people. We honor
enough other folks."
"Our elected officials have made it clear that they respect and
defend the right of workers to organize. I want to acknowledge the
continued support of the state legislature in this fight for
workers' rights. I thank the bill's lead sponsors, Chairman Robert
DeLeo and Senator Robert O'Leary, and I am profoundly grateful for
the leadership shown on this issue by Speaker DiMasi and Senate
President Murray. A year after Mitt Romney's veto, we have a
new Governor, one who has pledged to sign the bill, one who is
committed to improving the quality of life of working people, and
together with the legislature we have won a major victory for
workers in Massachusetts."
"It is such an honor to be this organization's President since
1998, and an officer of this organization for over 20 years. I am
thrilled, humbled, and honored to have been re-elected unanimously
today by delegates representing the entire scope of organized labor
in Massachusetts. It is the greatest honor of my life to be
President of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. I love this Labor Movement
and the unions in this Commonwealth, and I look forward to fighting
with, for and next to our wonderful Executive Council, Central Labor
Councils, and our affiliate unions, for another four years on behalf
of our members and all workers. It is nice to win, but to borrow a
line I heard recently, the winning is in the work. And I'm excited
to continue working on all the challenges that face working
families."
"It is not an overstatement to say that the installation of this
Edward Cohen plaque in the State House is one of the greatest
moments in our history. Where else is there a bronze plaque that is
dedicated to a slain labor leader and which captures all the amazing
contributions of the Labor Movement in such a prominent location as
between the offices of the Governor and the Speaker in our esteemed
State House? It is truly remarkable."
"Thanksgiving is about family, and is a special opportunity
to reflect on what we are grateful for in our lives. This year, I am
thankful for the strong Labor Movement in Massachusetts and across
the country, and for my union brothers and sisters who fight to make
sure family comes first."
"The holidays are a time for peace, brotherhood, and goodwill. This
season my thoughts are with all my union brothers and sisters, I
wish everyone a very happy holiday."
"If he wasn't so good at being so disingenuous this latest campaign
spin from Mitt Romney would be one heck of a punchline. It is absurd
on its face that Mitt Romney could say with a straight face that he
would bring labor, business and government together. This is the man
who, as Governor of Massachusetts, was the first and only governor
in the 120-year history of the Massachusetts AFL and
Massachusetts AFL-CIO that never met with the President of the
state AFL-CIO and never made any overtures to meet with anyone in
labor, ever. He was pathologically disdainful of organized labor and
working men and women and I hope America doesn't have to make the
same mistake Massachusetts did with this guy to learn its
lesson."
"We are not a one issue organization or Labor Movement. We never
have been. But every so often an issue arises that requires us to
advocate a little harder and mobilize our grassroots network to
impress upon our elected representatives just how important certain
issues are to us. The proposal to establish destination resort
casinos is one such issue. We look forward to working to convey the
merits and benefits of destination resort casinos to the members of
the General Court..... Just as they have been tremendous fighters
for workers over the years, we are confident that when confronted
with the facts and presented the merits of destination resort
casinos, state legislators will see why we took such a strong
position and respond favorably."
"The people of Massachusetts, especially working families, deserve
a fair hearing on destination resort casinos. I am confident that if
we have a fair hearing and can focus on the merits and policies of
destination resort casinos, it will be clear to legislators that we
can bring high quality economic development to our Commonwealth. And
that it is the right thing to do as it will bring thousands of
family-sustaining construction and permanent jobs, as well as much
needed public revenues. Let's put some life back into our economy
and we can start by having a fair hearing on destination
resort casinos."
"On behalf of the 40,000 workers who were denied paychecks by their
legislators yesterday I am profoundly upset and disappointed that
the debate about a real, quality economic development initiative
focused on insider procedures, rather than the merits of a piece of
legislation that had certain job creation and revenue generating
possibilities. At a time when economic insecurity and real angst
among working people is at its highest, it is a historic shame that
fewer than 50 State Representatives demonstrated the courage and
independence to do the right thing for working people, and by
advocating for an extensive, thorough, democratic, debate on the
merits, do the right thing for democracy. Yesterday working families
and democracy lost to politics."
"If the workers are organized, all they have to do is to put their
hands in their pockets and they have got the capitalist class
whipped."
“If the workers took a notion they could stop all speeding
trains;
Every ship upon the ocean they can tie with
mighty chains.
Every wheel in the creation, every mine
and every mill;
Fleets and armies of the nation, will at
their command stand still.”
"We want a better America, an America that will give its citizens,
first of all, a higher and higher standard of living so that no
child will cry for food in the midst of plenty."
"If you ever get to the place where injustice doesn't bother you,
you're dead."
"Although it is true that only about [13 percent] of American
workers are in unions, that [13 percent] sets the standards across
the board in salaries, benefits and working conditions. If you are
making a decent salary in a non-union company, you owe that to the
unions. One thing that corporations do not do is give out money out
of the goodness of their hearts."
"My friends it is solidarity we want. We do not want to find fault
with each other, but to solidify our forces and say to each other:
We must be together; our masters are joined together and we must do
the same thing."
"Mourn for the dead. Fight for the living."
"The next generation will not charge us for what we've done; they
will charge and condemn us for what we have left undone."
"I live in the United States, but I do not know exactly where. My
address is wherever there is a fight against oppression. My address
is like my shoes; it travels with me. I abide where there is a fight
against wrong."
"Some day the workers will take possession of your city hall, and
when we do, no child will be sacrificed on the altar of
profit."
"Let every nation know that we shall pay any price, bear any
burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe in
order to ensure the survival and success of liberty."
"The labor movement is people. Our unions have brought millions of
men and women together, made them members one of another, and given
them common tools for common goals. Their goals are goals for all
America - and their enemies are the enemies for progress. The two
cannot be separated."
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest
appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
" The American Labor Movement has consistently demonstrated its
devotion to the public interest. It is, and has been, good for all
America."
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on,
the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never
die."
"The way you spell Kennedy is L-A-B-O-R and don't you ever forget
it."
"Unfortunately, the current union election system is broken. The
nation's labor laws are too weak and too weakly enforced, and union
elections are often neither free nor fair. Everyday, employers
violate workers' right to organize and write off the minor penalties
as the cost of doing business. It's time to fix this broken system.
That's why I'll be introducing the Employee Free Choice Act in the
Senate."
"The American people spoke up - loudly and clearly - in the last
election, saying they want a Congress that stands up for working
families. The Employee Free Choice Act is exactly the kind of bold
action they were calling for. It is a key part of the Democratic
plan to help the struggling middle class and restore the economic
security that has been lost during the Bush years."
"Make no mistake about it! There is an organized movement against
organized labor and it's called the Bush
Administration."
"The Employee Free Choice Act is about more than changing our labor
laws - it's about giving workers basic dignity and respect in the
workplace. It's the first of many steps we need to take to restore
the voice of the American worker, which has been silenced far too
long."
"Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot
of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny
ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different
centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which
can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."
"The Republicans have nothing to run on, no ideas to push, no
solutions for America. They'll run a campaign of laughable gimmicks
and outright distortions and lies. But we can fight back with the
truth - and the truth can win this time."
"All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and
should be undertaken with painstaking excellence."
"As I have said many times, and believe with all my heart, the
coalition that can have the greatest impact in the struggle for
human dignity here in America is that of the Negro and the forces of
labor, because their fortunes are so closely intertwined."
"It is in this area (politics) of American life that labor and the
Negro have identical interests. Labor has grave problems today of
employment, shorter hours, old age security, housing and retraining
against the impact of automation. The Congress and the
Administration are almost as indifferent to labor's program as they
are toward that of the Negro. Toward both they offer vastly less
than adequate remedies for the problems which are a torment to us
day after day."
"You are demanding that this city will respect the dignity of
labor. So often we overlook the work and the significance of those
who are not in professional jobs, of those who are not in the
so-called big jobs. But let me say to you tonight that whenever you
are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of
humanity, it has dignity and it has worth."
"The Labor Movement was the principal force that transformed misery
and despair into hope and progress."
"The plain truth is that labor is the chief representative force
that keeps the real special interests from dominating American
political life."
"The labor movement is organized upon a principle that the strong
shall help the weak. The strength of a strong (wo)man is a prideful
thing, but the unfortunate thing in life is that strong (wo)men do
not remain strong. And it is just as true of unions and labor
organizations as is true of (wo)men and individuals. And whereas
today the craft unions of this country may be able to stand upon
their own feet and like mighty oaks stand before the gale, defy the
lightning, yet the day may come when those organizations will not be
able to withstand the lightning and the gale. Now, prepare
yourselves by making a contribution to your less fortunate
brethren...Organize the unorganized!"
"Increased interest and participation by labor in the affairs of
government should make for economic and political stability in the
future. Labor has a constitutional and statutory right to
participate."
"Let the workers organize. Let the toilers assemble. Let their
crystallized voices proclaim their injustices and demand their
privileges. Let all thoughtful citizens sustain them, for the future
of Labor is the future of America."
"If any man tells you he loves America, yet hates labor, he is a
liar. If any man tells you he trusts America, yet fears labor, he is
a fool."
"All that harms labor is treason to America."
"The strongest bond of human sympathy outside the family relation
should be one uniting working people people of all nations and
tongues and kindreds."
[Theories say] "it is assumed that labor and education are
incompatible; and any practical combination of them impossible.
According to that theory, a blind horse upon a tread-mill, is a
perfect illustration of what a laborer should be - all the better
for being blind, that he could not tread out of place, or kick
understandingly....[therefore] labor insists on universal
education."
"...Under the current law, it's the EMPLOYER'S choice. Under the
Employee Free Choice Act, it's the EMPLOYEE's choice...James Madison
famously wrote that 'If men were angels, no government would be
necessary.' Mr. Speaker, if all companies were angels, this bill
would not be necessary."
"When (someone) tells you that (they) got rich through hard work,
ask (them) whose."
"No matter which of the Democratic candidates wins the Primary
Election...we vow to come together behind the Democratic candidate
immediately and dedicate our resources, our organization, our
passion, and our energy in a campaign of steadfast solidarity to
educate our members and their families as to the abysmal record of
sixteen years of Republican governors and highlight the 'bread and
butter' issues that should be the focus of this election in order to
ensure a Democratic victory on November 7th."
"The American trade union movement - unlike any other labor
movement in the world - is committed to working within the American
political and economic system in order to achieve the social and
economic justice promised by the Declaration of Independence and the
Constitution."
"Every piece of progressive social legislation passed by Congress
in the 20th century bears a union label."
"The basic goal of labor will not change. It is - as it has always
been, and I'm sure always will be - to better the standards of life
for all those who work for wages and to seek decency and justice and
dignity for all Americans."
"Unions were created to make living conditions just a little better
than they were before they were created, and the union that does not
manifest that kind of interest in human beings cannot
endure."
"Politics didn't lead me to working folks; working folks led me to
politics."
"All politics is local."
"Solidarity is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow
distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On
the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit
oneself to the common good, that is, to the good of all and of each
individual because we are all responsible for each other."
"The important role of union organizations must be admitted: their
object is the representation of the various categories of workers,
their lawful collaboration in the economic advance of society, and
the development of the sense of their responsibility for the
realization of the common good."
"The essence of trade unionism is social uplift. The labor movement
has been the haven for the dispossessed, the despised, the
neglected, the downtrodden, the poor."
"A community is democratic only when the humblest and weakest
person can enjoy the highest civil, economic, and social rights that
the biggest and most powerful possess."
"Before the reward there must be labor. You plant before you
harvest. You sow in tears before you reap joy."
"There’s a direct relationship between the ballot box and the bread
box, and what the union fights for and wins at the bargaining table
can be taken away in the legislative halls."
"Labor is not fighting for a larger slice of the national pie -
labor is fighting for a larger pie."
"Courage is more exhilarating than fear, and in the long run it is
easier."
"No business which depends for existence on paying less than living
wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By
living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level - I mean
the wages of decent living."
"True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and
independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff
of which dictatorships are made."
"We have tried you good people of the public - and we have found
you wanting...I can't talk fellowship to you who are gathered here.
Too much blood has been spilled. I know from my experience it is up
to the working people to save themselves."
"What the woman who labors wants is the right to live, not simply
exist -- the right to life as the rich woman has the right to life,
and the sun and music and art. You have nothing that the humblest
worker has not a right to have also. The worker must have bread, but
she must have roses, too."
"We need a president who puts Barney Smith before Smith
Barney."
"The union movement stands for the fundamental moral values that
make America strong: quality education for our children, affordable
health care for every person - not just some - an end to poverty,
secure pensions and wages that enable families to sustain the
middle-class life that has fueled this nation's prosperity and
strength. Union members and other working family activists don't
just vote our moral values - we live them. We fight for them, day
in, day out. Our commitment to economic and social justice
propels us and everything we do."
"We want our tax dollars to provide a hand up for the millions of
working people who live on Main Street and not a handout to a
privileged band of overpaid corporate executives."
"It's a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it's a
depression when you lose yours."
"The issue is jobs. You can't get away from it: jobs. Having a buck
or two in your pocket and feeling like somebody."
"There's no evil that's inflicted more pain and more suffering than
racism - and it's something that we in the Labor Movement have a
special responsibility to challenge. It's our special responsibility
because we know, better than anyone else, how racism is used to
divide working people. We've seen how companies set worker against
worker - how they throw whites a few extra crumbs off the table -
and how it's black and Latino workers who get the dirtiest, most
dangerous jobs. But we've seen something else too. We've seen that
when we cross that color line and stand together no one can keep us
down."
"Without Labor no one prospers." -Popular Banner
"May the warmth and glow of each candle you light make your heart
and home and your Hannukah bright." -Traditional Hannukah
Greeting
"If you come only to help me, you can go back home. But if you
consider my struggle as part of your struggle for survival, then
maybe we can work together." -Aboriginal Wise Saying
"St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time - a day to begin
transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic." -Irish
Proverb
"We'll hold this line until hell freezes over - then we'll hold it
on ice skates." - Anonymous Picket Sign
"Better to starve fighting than to starve working." - A slogan of
the 1912 Lawrence, Massachusetts Strike
"Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are
doing it." - Chinese Proverb
"I find the intellect of the intellectual much less discerning than
the common sense of the common man." - sign in the campaign
office of Anthony Galluccio
"Our work continues." - Written on the historic Edward Cohen "Labor
in Massachusetts" Plaque
"If capitalism is fair then unionism must be. If men and women have
a right to capitalize their ideas and the resources of their
country, then that implies the right of men and women to capitalize
their labor."
UNIONS & LABOR
In my time we was beaten, rotten egged, cussed, threatened,
tarred and feathered and blackballed from other jobs. Hurt in so
many different ways. But at our meetings our advice to the men and
women that was hurt, we would just say to them what the good book
says, the Lord will not put more upon you than you can bear, at
least none of us lost our lives like some did in the early 30's.
Thank God!... —W.M. "Jack" Anderson, first local president, UAW local 645
(TX)
One of these days you'll see the light and we'll have the union
in. Just a matter of time.—W.M. "Jack" Anderson, first local president, UAW local 645
(TX)
Without unions, workers will lose many of the protections
against abusive employers. Wages for all will be
depressed, even as corporate profits soar. The American
Dream will be destroyed for millions. And we will have a
government of the corporations, by the already powerful, for the
wealthy. —Kenneth Bernstein, teacher and blogger, in a 2011 CNN.com opinion piece on the Wisconsin measure to strip public employees of
collective bargaining rights
Strong, responsible unions are essential to industrial fair
play. Without them the labor bargain is wholly one-sided.
The parties to the labor contract must be nearly equal in
strength if justice is to be worked out, and this means that the
workers must be organized and that their organizations must be
recognized by employers as a condition precedent to industrial
peace.—Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis
Labor can not stand still. It must not retreat. It must go on, or
go under.—Harry Bridges
Those unions that enjoy the right to strike have no guarantee
that sacrificing their jobs and their livelihood will result in
victory but they nevertheless engage in lengthy strikes, not
because they are assured of winning but because they are
determined to fight.—William Burrus, 1998
The role of a labor union is to ensure that the balance is not
tipped in favor of the employer when employees do not receive
wages and benefits commensurate with their contribution.—William Burrus
Labor will remain united and continue to work to protect the
interests of America’s working families.—William Burrus, November 2004
The history of America has been largely created by the deeds of
its working people and their organizations--there is scarcely an
issue that is not influenced by labor’s organized efforts or lack
of them.— William Cahn, Labor historian
The Union is not a fee-for-service organization, it is a
family.—Sue Carney, APWU Director of Human Relations
Every advance in this half-century--Social Security, civil
rights, Medicare, aid to education, one after another--came with
the support and leadership of American Labor.—Jimmy Carter
Labor Unions are the leading force for democratization and
progress.—Noam Chomsky
With all their faults, trade unions have done more for humanity
than any other organization of men that ever existed. They have
done more for decency, for honesty, for education, for the
betterment of the race, for the developing of character in men,
than any other association of men.— Clarence Darrow
There is no such thing as the open shop, really. There is a union
shop and a nonunion shop. Everybody that believes in the open shop
disbelieves in the union shop, whatever they say.— Clarence Darrow
There is certainly...something wrong in that form of unionism
whose leaders are the lieutenants of capitalism.—Eugene V. Debs
If you go to the city of Washington, you will find that
almost all of those corporation lawyers and cowardly
politicians, members of congress, and mis-representatives of
the masses claim, in glowing terms, that they have risen
from the ranks to places of eminence and distinction.
I am very glad that I cannot make that claim for
myself. I would be ashamed to admit that I had risen
from the ranks. When I rise it will be with the ranks.—Eugene V. Debs
What can Labor do for itself? The answer is not difficult. Labor
can organize, it can unify; it can consolidate its forces. This
done, it can demand and command.—Eugene V. Debs
The only effective answer to organized greed is organized
labor.—Thomas Donahue
The scaffold has never yet and never will destroy an idea
or a movement.—Joseph Ettor, IWW organizer
We couldn't see things with the eyes of 1962. We saw them with
the eyes of 1905 through about 1917. Well, we certainly never
heard of such a thing and we never thought it would be possible,
that there would be social security or unemployment insurance...
Also, we never heard of vacations with pay. We never heard of
vacations, let alone vacations with pay. We never heard of
seniority as it is understood today. There were no pensions for
retirement of workers.—Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, 1962
...
There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those
who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less
competition there.—Indira Gandhi
Our movement is of the working people, for the
working people, by the working people. . . . There is not a right
too long denied to which we do not aspire in order to achieve;
there is not a wrong too long endured that we are not determined
to abolish.—Samuel Gompers
Where trade unions are most firmly organized, there are the
rights of the people most respected.—Samuel Gompers
To be free, the workers must have choice. To have choice
they must retain in their own hands the right to determine
under what conditions they will work.—Samuel Gompers
In present conditions a workman may not unnaturally believe that
only by belonging to a union can he secure a contract that shall
be fair to him....If that belief, whether right or wrong, may be
held by a reasonable man, it seems to me that it may be enforced
by law in order to establish the equality of position...in which
liberty of contract begins.—Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
We are all here because we want to serve our brothers and
sisters, and each individual should be given a constant
opportunity to do that in the ways that will best benefit the
Union as a whole.— Peter Holter-Mehren, WAPWU President (2002)
The story of the labor movement needs to be taught in every
school in this land.... America is a living testimonial to what
free men and women, organized in free democratic trade unions,
can do to make a better life. We ought to be proud of
it.—Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, 1977 speech before the
Minnesota AFL-CIO Convention
Every man is dishonest who lives upon the labor of others, no
matter if he occupies a throne.— Robert Green Ingersoll
Although it is true that only about 20 percent of American
workers are in unions, that 20 percent sets the standards across
the board in salaries, benefits and working conditions. If you are
making a decent salary in a non-union company, you owe that to the
unions. One thing that corporations do not do is give out money
out of the goodness of their hearts.—Molly Ivins
I am convinced that if the members of labor organizations would
follow some of the tactics of the employers organizations their
movement could more successfully withstand its opponents and to
progress as it has in the past. But if we are to be successful we
must have, above all things, more loyalty and less
selfishness.— Charles E. James, African-American Union leader, 1907
The home is the most effective place to preach the gospel of
unionism.— Charles E. James, African-American Union leader, 1905
A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to
regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall
not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned -- this
is the sum of good government.—Thomas Jefferson
The problem with unions today is that there aren't enough
of them.--Martin Johns, 2011
The labor movement was not originated by man. The labor movement,
my friends, was a command from God Almighty.—Mother Jones
The next generation will not charge us for what we've done; they
will charge and condemn us for what we have left undone.—Mother Jones
The American Labor Movement has consistently demonstrated its
devotion to the public interest. It is, and has been, good for all
America.—John F. Kennedy
Our labor unions are not narrow, self-seeking groups. They have
raised wages, shortened hours, and provided supplemental benefits.
Through collective bargaining and grievance procedures, they have
brought justice and democracy to the shop floor.—John F. Kennedy
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent
revolution inevitable.—John F. Kennedy
If a man hasn't discovered something that he would die for, he
isn't fit to live.-- Martin Luther King, Jr.
In our society it is murder, psychologically, to deprive a man of
a job or an income. You are in substance saying to that man that
he has no right to exist. You are in a real way depriving him of
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, denying in his case
the very creed of his society.-- Martin Luther King, Jr.
...
If hard work were such a wonderful thing, surely the rich would
have kept it all to themselves.— Lane Kirkland
We have come too far, -- struggled too long, -- sacrificed too
much and have too much left to do, -- to allow that which we have
achieved for the good of all to be swept away without a fight. And
we have not forgotten how to fight.— Lane Kirkland
Our struggle is the struggle of every working man and woman
in America. We built this country, we have fought and
died in its wars, paid our taxes and built every road and
building in it, from one coast to the other. And all
we've asked in return is a fair day's pay for a fair day's
work.—Moe Lepore, President Boston Metro Area Local APWU
(2010)
A working class hero is something to be.—John Lennon
Let the workers organize. Let the toilers assemble. Let their
crystallized voice proclaim their injustices and demand their
privileges. Let all thoughtful citizens sustain them, for the
future of Labor is the future of America.—John L. Lewis
If any man tells you he loves America, yet hates labor, he is a
liar. If any man tells you he trusts America, yet fears labor, he
is a fool.—Abraham Lincoln
Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only
the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not
first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the
higher consideration.—Abraham Lincoln
All that harms labor is treason to America.—Abraham Lincoln
I am glad to see that a system of labor prevails under which
laborers can strike when they want to.—Abraham Lincoln
Anyone with a part-time job works full-time for half
salary.—Denise D. Lynn
When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him
whose.-- Don Marquis
One cannot have a trade union or a democratic election without
freedom of speech, freedom of association and assembly.
Without a democratic election, whereby people choose and remove
their rulers, there is no method of securing human rights against
the state. No democracy without human rights, no human
rights without democracy, and no trade union rights without
either. That is our belief; that is our creed.—George Meany, 1979
The basic goal of labor will not change. It is -- as it has
always been, and I am sure always will be -- to better the
standards of life for all who work for wages and to seek decency
and justice and dignity for all Americans.—George Meany
Labor never quits. We never give up the fight – no matter how
tough the odds, no matter how long it takes.—George Meany
Only through a union built on real union principles can we hope
to win real economic justice.—Richard Myers
The true face of the unions is not now a man in a hard hat as
much as it is a woman in a classroom or in cleaning
smocks.—Karen Nussbaum, SEIU
It was working men and women who made the 20th century
the American century. It was the labor movement that helped secure
so much of what we take for granted today. The 40-hour
work week, the minimum wage, family leave, health insurance,
Social Security, Medicare, retirement plans. The
cornerstones of the middle-class security all bear the union
label.—President Barack Obama, speech at Laborfest, September 6, 2010
The labor movement means just this: It is the last noble protest
of the American people against the power of incorporated
wealth.— Wendell Phillips
...
The essence of trade unionism is social uplift. The labor
movement traditionally has been the haven for the dispossessed,
the despised, the neglected, the downtrodden, the poor.—A. Philip Randolph
Since all the workers in the industrial community get the
benefits of these services performed by the union, made possible
by the union, we believe that since all the workers share in the
services all the workers ought to share in the cost of providing
those services.—Walter Reuther
Labor is not fighting for a larger slice of the national
pie--labor is fighting for a larger pie.—Walter Reuther
The most important resource of a union is its rank and
file.—Ray Rogers
If I went to work in a factory, the first thing I'd do would be
to join a Union.—Franklin D. Roosevelt
Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy, forget
in time that men have died to win them.—Franklin D. Roosevelt
It is to the real advantage of every producer, every manufacturer
and every merchant to cooperate in the improvement of working
conditions, because the best customer of American industry is the
well-paid worker.—Franklin D. Roosevelt
The main mistake made by unions is people not being willing to
talk to people that you strongly disagree with. Not just talk,
but communicate.—Pete Seeger, folksinger, songwriter, activist, pacifist, and
humanist
Suppose they’re working you so hard it’s just outrageous,
They’re
paying you all starvation wages;
You go to the boss, and
the boss would yell,
"Before I'd raise your pay I’d see you
all in Hell."
Well, he’s puffing a big see-gar and feeling
mighty slick,
He thinks he’s got your union licked.
He
looks out the window, and what does he see
But a thousand
pickets, and they all agree
He’s a bastard - unfair - slave
driver -
Bet he beats his own wife.
—Pete Seeger, folksinger, songwriter, activist, pacifist, and
humanist, from "Talking Union" (1941)
Without labor nothing prospers. —Sophocles
Unions have been the best anti-poverty program that actually
worked and did not cost the government a dime. —Andy Stern, SEIU President
Let workers decide if they want to be divided from the other
union members in their industry so that each union makes its own
deals with employers instead of uniting workers' strength - or be
part of one, powerful, industry-based movement.—Andy Stern, SEIU President
When fewer workers have unions, the standard of living falls for
everyone and the gap between the rich and poor grows.—John Sweeney, 2003
As it has over the decades, the union movement stands for the
fundamental moral values that make America strong: quality
education for our children, affordable health care for every
person—not just some—an end to poverty, secure pensions and wages
that enable families to sustain the middle-class life that has
fueled this nation’s prosperity and strength. Union members and
other working family activists don’t just vote our moral values—we
live them. We fight for them, day in, day out. Our commitment to
economic and social justice propels us and everything we
do.—John Sweeney, November 2004
We believe hard work nourishes the soul and should nourish the
body and support the family as well. We believe every one of us
has an equal claim to the prosperity of America. And that it’s our
job to ensure a better life for the generations that come after
us.—John Sweeney, November 2004
Working people want a labor movement strong enough to help
return balance to our economy, fairness to our tax system,
security to our families and moral and economic standing to
our nation.—AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, May 20, 2011
The defense of our rights and our dignity, as well as
efforts to never let ourselves to be overcome by the feeling
of hatred--this is the road we have chosen.—Lech Walesa
Labor in this country is independent and proud. It has not
to ask the patronage of capital, but capital solicits the aid of
labor.—Daniel Webster
As can be seen in our history, the only answer to a powerful
business leader is a powerful labor union.— Hilton M. Weiss
