// ======= Random Quote ========= // NumberofQuotes = last index. var LastIndex = 81; function quote() {var QUOTES = new Quotes(); var whichquote=Math.floor(Math.random()*(LastIndex + 1)); // 0 <= whichquote <= LastIndex document.write(""); document.write(QUOTES[whichquote]); document.write("") } function Quotes() { this.length = LastIndex + 1; this[0] ="All that serves labor serves the nation. All that harms is treason. If a man tells you he trusts America, yet fears labor, he is a fool. There is no America without labor, and to fleece the one is to rob the other.
Abraham Lincoln"; this[1] ="What does labor want? We want more schoolhouses and less jails, more books and less arsenals, more learning and less vice, more constant work and less crime, more leisure and less greed, more justice and less revenge. In fact more of the opportunities to cultivate our better natures, to make manhood more noble, womanhood more beautiful and childhood more happy and bright.
Samuel Gompers"; this[2] =". . . Workers have a right to organize into unions and to bargain collectively with their employers, and . . . a strong, free labor movement is an invigorating and necessary part of our industrial society.
Dwight D. Eisenhower"; this[3] ="The American labor movement has consistently demonstrated its devotion to the public interest. It is, and has been, good for all America. Those who would destroy or further limit the rights of organized labor--those who cripple collective bargaining or prevent organization of the unorganized--do a disservice to the cause of democracy.
John F. Kennedy"; this[4] ="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. But their work goes beyond their own job, and even beyond our borders. For the labor movement is people. Our unions have brought millions of men and women together . . . and given them common tools for common goals. Their goals are goals for all America--and their enemies are enemies of progress. The two cannot be separated.
John F. Kennedy"; this[5] ="I know that the American labor movement wants for America what I want for America: the elimination of poverty and unemployment, the reestablishment of America's position of leadership in the world, the end of racial discrimination everywhere in our society. I know the American labor movement opposes what I oppose: complacency, unemployment, economic stagnation, and national insecurity. I believe in the things the labor movement believes in and fights for.
John F. Kennedy" this[6] ="Today in America, unions have a secure place in our industrial life. Only a handful of reactionaries harbor the ugly thought of breaking unions and depriving working men and women of the right to join the union of their choice. I have no use for those -- regardless of their political party -- who hold some vain and foolish dream of spinning the clock back to days when organized labor was huddled, almost as a hapless mass. Only a fool would try to deprive working men and women of the right to join the union of their choice.
Dwight D. Eisenhower" this[7] ="Whatever their faults, unions have been the only powerful and effective voice working people have ever had in the history of this country.
Bruce Springsteen" this[8] ="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 the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.
Abraham Lincoln Message to Congress, 3 Dec 1861" this[9] ="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. Phillip Randolph" this[10] ="The strongest bond of human sympathy outside the family relation should be one uniting working people of all nations and tongues and kindreds.
Abraham Lincoln" this[11] ="The fight is never about grapes or lettuce. It is always about people.
Cesar Chavez" this[12] ="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" this[13] ="Only a fool would try to deprive working men and working women of their right to join the union of their choice.
Dwight D. Eisenhower" this[14] ="If capitalism is fair then unionism must be. If men have a right to capitalize their ideas and the resources of their country, then that implies the right of men to capitalize their labor.
Frank Lloyd Wright" this[15] ="It is one of the characteristics of a free and democratic nation that it has free and independent labor unions.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt" this[16] ="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" this[17] ="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.
Joe Hill" this[18] ="The labor movement means just this: It is the last noble protest of the American people against the power of incorporated wealth.
Wendell Phillips" this[19] ="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" this[20] ="If hard work were such a wonderful thing, surely the rich would have kept it all to themselves.
Lane Kirkland" this[21] ="When we talk about equal pay for equal work, women in the workplace are beginning to catch up. If we keep going at this current rate, we will achieve full equality in about 475 years. I don't know about you, but I can't wait that long.
Lya Sorano" this[22] ="We must learn to live together as brothers or we are going to perish together as fools.
Martin Luther King, Jr." this[23] ="In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, as 'right-to-work.' It provides no 'rights' and no 'works.' Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining... We demand this fraud be stopped.
Martin Luther King, Jr." this[24] ="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" this[25] ="We must be together; our masters are joined together and we must do the same thing.
Mother Jones" this[26] ="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.
Pope Paul VI" this[27] ="What does labor want? We want more schoolhouses and less jails; more books and less arsenals; more learning and less vice; more leisure and less greed; more justice and less revenge; in fact, more of the opportunities to cultivate our better natures, to make manhood more noble, womanhood more beautiful, and childhood more happy and bright.
Samuel Gompers" this[28] ="You can't do it unless you organize.
Samuel Gompers" this[29] ="Join the union, girls, and together say Equal Pay for Equal Work.
Susan B. Anthony" this[30] ="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 and bread it has earned -- this is the sum of good government.
Thomas Jefferson" this[31] ="You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free.
Clarence Darrow" this[32] ="Years ago I recognized my kinship with all living things, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on the earth. I said then and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it; while there is a criminal element, I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.
Eugene V. Debs" this[33] ="Ten thousand times has the labor movement 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 notwithstanding 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.
Eugene V. Debs" this[34] ="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.
Eugene V. Debs" this[35] ="The labor movement is organized upon a principle that the strong shall help the weak. The strength of a strong man is a prideful thing, but the unfortunate thing in life is that strong men do not remain strong. And it is just as true of unions and labor organizations as is true of 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!
John L. Lewis" this[36] ="My friends, it is solidarity of labor 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.
Mother Jones" this[37] ="The labor movement means just this: It is the last noble protest of the American people against the power of incorporated wealth.
Wendell Phillips" this[38] ="If I went to work in a factory, the first thing I think I'd do would be to join a Union.
Franklin D. Roosevelt" this[39] ="The mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few (born) to ride them.
Thomas Jefferson" this[40] ="There was a time when workmen were denied the right of leaving their employers, when they were part of the soil, owned by their employers, and any attempt on their part to leave was regarded as the escape of a slave, brought back, imprisoned, branded, and gibbeted. Not many years ago, when workmen counseled with each other for the purpose of resisting a reduction in their wages or making an effort to secure an increase, it was held to be a conspiracy punishable by imprisonment. Through the effort of organized labor, an enlightened public sentiment changed all this until to-day the right to unite for material, moral, and social improvement on the part of workers is accepted by all.
Samuel Gompers" this[41] ="I believe in the working people. I believe in their growing intelligence. I believe in their growing and persistent demand for better conditions, for a more rightful situation in the industrial, political, and social affairs of this country and of the world. I have faith that the working people will better their condition far beyond what it is today. The position of the organized labor movement is not based upon misery and poverty, but upon the right of workers to a larger and constantly growing share of the production, and they will work out these problems for themselves.
Samuel Gompers" this[42] = "Your silence will not protect you.
Audre Lorde" this[43] = "You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free.
Clarence Darrow" this[44] = "We must indeed all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.
Benjamin Franklin, July 4, 1776, remark to John Hancock, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence" this[45] = "When I rise it will be with the ranks and not from the ranks.
Eugene V. Debs" this[46] = "We must learn to live together as brothers or we are going to perish together as fools.
Martin Luther King, Jr." this[47] = "Years ago I recognized my kinship with all living things, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on the earth. I said then and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it; while there is a criminal element, I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.
Eugene V. Debs, Founder of the American Railway Union" this[48] = "In Unity there is strength; We can move mountains when we're united and enjoy life --Without unity we are victims. Stay united.
Bill Bailey, 1994" this[49] = "If nobody quits until I do, there will be no quitting!
UMWA organizer John R. Lawson, in 1915 after being sentenced to life imprisonment for murder in a frame-up trial" this[50] = "My friends, it is solidarity of labor 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.
Mother Jones, 1902, Speaking before the convention of the UMWA, Indianapolis, IN" this[51] = "Then join in hand brave Americans all, By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall.
John Dickinson, From The Liberty Song" this[52] = "It is a great mistake for any class of laborers to isolate itself and thus weaken the bond of brotherhood between those on whom the burdens and hardship of labor (fall). The fortunate ones of the Earth, who are abundant in land and money and know nothing of the anxious care and pinching poverty of the laboring classes, may be indifferent to the appeal to justice at this point, but the laboring classes cannot afford to be indifferent. What labor everywhere wants, what it ought to have, and will someday demand and receive, is an honest day's pay for an honest day's work. As the laborer becomes more intelligent he will develop what capital he already possesses --that is the power to organize and combine for its own protection.
Frederick Douglass" this[53] = "An injury to one is the concern of all.
Slogan of The Knights of Labor, circa 1880's" this[54] = "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 please for solidarity, and all other efforts to achieve it will be barren of results.
Eugene V. Debs" this[55] = "The boss don't listen when one guy squawks/ But he's gotta listen when the union talks.
An old song" this[56] = "Universal economic evils afflicting the working class can be eradicated only by a universal working-class movement. Such a movement of the working class is impossible while separate craft and wage agreements are made favoring the employer against other crafts in the same industry, and while energies are wasted in fruitless jurisdictional struggles which serve only to further the personal aggrandizement of union officials.
From the 1905 Call to the Founding convention of the Industrial Workers of the World." this[57] = "You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free.
Clarence Darrow" this[58] = "El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido,
(The people united will never be defeated)" this[59] = "A single bracelet does not jingle.
Congo proverb" this[60] = "United jaws crush the bone.
Kigezi proverb, southwest Uganda" this[61] = "Cross the river in a crowd and the crocodile won't eat you.
Proverb from Madagascar" this[62] = "The workers have nothing to lose in this but their chains. They have the world to gain. Workers of the world unite!
Karl Marx" this[63] = "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail" this[64] = "Am I my brother's keeper? [That frequently asked question] has never been answered in a way that is satisfactory to civilized society. Yes, I am my brother's keeper. I am under a moral obligation to him that is inspired, not by maudlin sentimentality, but by the higher duty I owe myself. It is when you have done your work honestly, when you have contributed your share to the common fund that you begin to live. Then, as Whitman said, you can take out your soul; you can commune with yourself; you can take a comrade by the hand and you can look into his soul and in that holy communion you live. And if you don't know what that is, or if you are not at least on the edge of it, it is denied you even to look into the Promised Land.
Eugene V. Debs, from a speech given at the founding of the Federal Council of Churches in Girard, Kansas, 1908" this[65] = "The strongest bond of human sympathy, outside of the family relation, should be one of uniting all working people of all nations, tongues and kindreds.
From the speeches of Abraham Lincoln" this[66] = "In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.
Martin Niemoeller, German Lutheran Pastor (1892-1984)" this[67] = "In spite of petty national lines, in spite of international division lines, the workers of the world over are coming together on the ground of their common working class interest, without regard to race, color, creed or flag, and they are coming together because the earth and all the earth holds, and all its possibilities are theirs.
Father Thomas Hagerty, speaking at the Founding Convention of the I.W.W., 1905" this[68] = "The basic law of capitalism is you or I, not both you and I.
Karl Liebknecht, from a speech delivered in 1907" this[69] = "The Labor Movement; the folks who brought you the weekend.
Bumper sticker, 1995" this[70] = "When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.
Dom Helder Camara, Archbishop of Recife, Brazil" this[71] = "Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people who want crops without ploughing the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning; they want the ocean without the roar of its many waters. The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand; it never has and it never will.
Frederick Douglas" this[72] = "Only a fool would try to deprive working men and working women of their right to join the union of their choice.
Dwight D. Eisenhower" this[73] = " 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" this[74] = "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain.
Maya Angelo" this[75] = "History is a great teacher. Now everyone knows that the labor movement did not diminish the strength of the nation but enlarged it. By raising the living standards of millions, labor miraculously created a market for industry and lifted the whole nation to undreamed of levels of production. Those who attack labor forget these simple truths, but history remembers them.
Martin Luther King Jr." this[76] = "All over this country, there is a squeeze on working people. I will speak for you in Washington. But, equally or more important, you have got to speak for yourself through a union.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders to Immigration Workers, Jan 2008" this[77] = "We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.
Winston Churchill" this[78] = "All speech is vain and empty unless it be accompanied by action.
Demosthenes" this[79] = "If we take back the labor unions, the legitimate businesses, eventually they become just another street gang. Spiritually, psychologically, they've always been just a street gang.
Rudy Giuliani" this[80] = "It is not enough to help the feeble up, but to support him after.
William Shakespeare" this[81] = "It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.
Frederick Douglass" }