Jaime Serra Puche Quotes

The unions still have a job to do, representing their members' interests to governments and parliaments. And I think collective agreements still have a role, alongside markets and laws.

If we are going to reverse the race to the bottom, workers must have the right to engage in collective bargaining.

If you don't have collective agreements between unions and employers, governments have to legislate more.

I am always on the side of labor when there is any compromise to be made.

Unions may also legitimately resort to strikes where this is the only available means to the justice owed to workers

I will only stop defending the rights of workers when I die.

The global economy shall not run without the consent of the workers….We demand fair trade, not free trade.

Thank God we have a system of labor where there can be a strike.

All we want the Labor Secretary to do is enforce the law and protect workers’ rights.

We have to bake labor provisions into the core of an agreement. TPP would do that. Under NAFTA, countries had to simply promise to uphold the laws of their own nations.

If I were the president of the United States, I would make unions illegal. They no longer serve a functional purpose in democracy, in my view.

South Carolina is a 'right to work' state - a misnomer of a phrase, as the laws limits union representation of workers. It does does not guarantee workers a job or fair wages and conditions.

I support collective bargaining everywhere.

We don't have unions in South Carolina because we don't need unions in South Carolina.

My parents were both union members, and I grew up hearing how important it was to empower workers and have fair labor practices.

Legislation has been and is still directed towards the protection of wealth, rather than towards the far more important interests of labor on which everything of value to mankind depends.

I think unionization is good public policy. I think when families secure their economic future, that's good for everyone.

I am not a labor hater.

I came from a family where joining a union was the expected thing to do. I've always believed that the relationship between an employer and an individual worker is fundamentally unequal.

Workers have kept faith in American institutions. Most of the conflicts, which have occurred have been when labor's right to live has been challenged and denied.

The Bush administration staunchly opposed legislation which would preserve overtime pay for all workers.

Public employees should have the right to bargain for better wages and working conditions, just like all employees do.

In 1887, Oregon became the first state to make Labor Day an official holiday, with Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York quickly following suit.

To fulfill the promise of economic opportunity, we must remain true to the principle that collective bargaining is a cornerstone of a free society and indispensable to a strong middle class.

The unions claim the deck is stacked against them when it comes to labor laws, but the truth is many private and public sector workers are forced to pay union dues as a condition of their employment, yet they have little say in how the unions spend their money.