"The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress. Out of its bold struggles, economic and social reform gave birth to unemployment insurance, old-age pensions, government relief for the destitute and, above all, new wage levels that meant not mere survival but a tolerable life. The captains of industry did not lead this transformation; they resisted it until they were overcome. When in the thirties the wave of union organization crested over the nation, it carried to secure shores not only itself but the whole society."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Martin Luther King Jr., Speech to the state convention of the Illinois American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) (7 October 1965), as quoted in Now Is the Time. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Labor in the South: The Case for a Coalition (January 1986)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Trade_unions
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Trade unions
63 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Trade unions →
Related Quotes
"It was recognized, and recognized fairly, that when you get large bodies of workmen together they cannot, nor is it f…"
"Trade unionism, like friendly societies, is a peculiarly English growth. This country is the native soil in which suc…"
"Illinois owes well over $200 billion, with more than $150 billion owed to pensions and benefits of retired state work…"
"A growing body of work--both theoretical and empirical--has emphasized that unionization may be better understood as …"
"The massive labor shortage that’s rocked the U.S. since the pandemic and disrupted long-established employment relati…"
"FedEx Ground keeps contractors small by design to avoid becoming too dependent on one company in a service area. That…"
"Unions do not reduce wage inequality among women."
"I consider that every workman is well advised to join a trade union. I cannot conceive how any man standing undefende…"
"Some economists suspect that President Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal” cartelization policies, which limited competit…"
"States and public-sector unions may no longer extract agency fees from nonconsenting employees."