Labor Activism Quotes

“In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such 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.

“I've always been amused by the contention that brain work is harder than manual labor. I've never known a man to leave a desk for a muck-stick if he could avoid it.”
― John Steinbeck, America and Americans and Selected Nonfiction

“If one man has a dollar he didn’t work for, some other man worked for a dollar he didn’t get.”
― William "Big Bill" Haywood

“The thing most worth doing in this modern world [is to] create jobs that men can work at, and be proud of, and make money by their work.”
― Nevil Shute, Ruined City

“After Jacob had worked for Laban for seven years, do you know what happened? Laban fooled him and gave him his ugly daughter Leah. So to marry Rachel, Jacob was forced to work another seven years.

So, you see, children, the Bible clearly teaches us you can never trust an employer.”
― Joseph Stein, Fiddler on the Roof

“[Historian] Kevin Starr has written that "the San Diego free speech battles revealed the depths of reaction possible in the threatened middle- and lower-middle classes of California." He argues that vigilantes were recruited from an anxious petty bourgeoisie, "who were uncertain and insecure in what they had gained or thought they had gained by coming to California." As in late Weimar Germany, "the oligarchy, which is to say, the upper-middle and upper classes, loathed and feared the [Industrial Workers of the World]; but oligarchs did not take to the streets as vigilantes. They did, however, encourage the lower-middle classes to do such work.”
― Justin Akers Chacón

“In recent years a smaller share of young adults has been employed than at any time since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking such trends in 1948. So it's not surprising that this generation of youthful protesters has a different focus for their grievances: the economy, stupid. But notice the targets they've chosen to demonize. It's all about class, not age. It's 1% versus 99%, not young versus old. Occupy Wall Street, not Occupy Leisure World.”
― Pew Research Center, The Next America: Boomers, Millennials, and the Looming Generational Showdown

“As the Liberty lads o'er the sea
Bought their freedom, and cheaply, with blood
So we, boys, we
Will die fighting, or live free,
And down with all kings but King Ludd”
― Lord Byron

“[M]ost American workplaces operate in ways that make it almost impossible for anyone to speak truth to power or challenge the status quo and be able to thrive or advance in their career. 'If you dare to open your mouth, you basically ruin your career,' is one of the most common lines I hear from people when I ask them about what usually stops them from saying or doing what they see as the right thing to do.”
― Louis Yako

“No one but love can fuel the diligent work that awaits you.”
― Arif Naseem

“In reality, in most American companies, only few handpicked—arguably appointed— individuals in powerful positions; positions like leadership, finance, treasury, advisory, and so on, have the last say in what matters. Their words, no matter how nonsensical, are treated as the ultimate wisdom. Their silences are emulated by everyone else working under them, regardless of any human, capital, or ethical costs resulting from such silences. These powerful individuals are often so emotionally and intellectually abusive that employees treat even their most absurd suggestions as roadmaps dictating the direction of any company or project at hand.”
― Louis Yako

“As a result, we now see a plethora of MBA-holders mushrooming in and infiltrating every sector, company and corporation, no matter how large or small. With rare exceptions, these MBA-holders hardly bring any creativity or depth to the table. For them, everything is about profits and building their own image and profile. They seldom care about the well-being and advancement of those who fall under the mercy of their business ideas. They are usually people who, like a herd of sheep, have been told that an MBA is the easiest and fastest route to prosperity and advancement, so they go to school, get that MBA, and from there wreak havoc in every place they set their foot on. With their mediocrity and strong desire to advance at any cost, their management styles often create a culture of fear and intimidation among employees. This culture is usually characterized by serious retaliation if anyone dares to open their mouth to challenge their authority or critique their ideas.”
― Louis Yako

“In brief, anyone who has worked at one or two workplaces in America is familiar with that type of middle management or upper management individuals whose job is almost exclusively to create unnecessary tasks and procedures that turn the lives of employees under them into an absolute nightmare. What usually happens under such toxic circumstances? Nothing. A deafening silence from most employees. In fact, many employees not only remain silent out of fear of getting fired, they go as far as putting on fake smiles (or even loud laughter) to survive. Some walk around the office with the attitude of ‘I love my job!’ ‘I love my life!’ ‘I am living the dream!’ to please middle and upper management.”
― Louis Yako