The American Labor Movement has consistently demonstrated its devotion to the public interest. It is, and has been, good for all Americans.
President John F. Kennedy
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.
President John F. Kennedy
There is no America without labor, and to fleece the one is to rob the other.
President Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)
If a man tells you he loves America, yet hates labor, he is a liar!
President Abraham Lincoln
If I were a worker in a factory, the first thing I would do would be to join a union.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
The AFL-CIO has done more good for more people than any (other) group in America in its legislative efforts. It doesn’t just try to do something about wages and hours for its own people. No group in the country works harder in the interests of everyone.
President Lyndon Johnson, 1965
“I can hire one-half the working class to kill the other half.”
Jay Gould (1836-1892), financier, railroad businessman, on not worrying about an impending strike at Southwestern rail system, 1886
“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.
“Right-to-Work laws are a virtual conspiracy of the crafty, the ignorant, or the misguided to subvert industrial peace, exploit men’s need to work and deluge the community with industrial irresponsibility. ‘Right-to-Work’ laws do not create jobs; they only victimize the worker and make his organization ineffective.”
Reverend Dr. Walter George Muelder, educator, economist, ethicist, dean of Boston University School of Theology
“You will find people saying that they are for the so-called right to work law, but they also believe in unions. This is absurd. It’s like saying you are for motherhood but against children.”
President Truman , 1947
“Right to work laws are a welcome mat for companies who care most about low-wage, unskilled labor and who are committed to a region only until they are able to relocate to someplace where the laws protecting workers are even weaker.”
Professor Ann Markusen, University of Minnesota
“Low road companies do care about right-to-work laws, because their primary concern is minimizing the cost of labor…. From an economic perspective, these are not very attractive targets, because they are footloose….”
Professor Wim Wiewel, University of Baltimore
“Competitive businesses are not attracted to and grown in the cheapest locations but in the highest value locations – places where there are good labor force skills, high quality of life, and innovation assets, such as world-class universities”
William Schweke, Research Director, Corporation for Enterprise Development