Bill Shorten Quotes

In order to work for Chrysler, you are required to join the union, in this case UAW. There's no choice - it's a union shop - the employees voted to have it that way, and in America, that's the way it is.

The decline of the trade union is to some extent inevitable and irreversible.

Everyone should have the right to join a strong union that will always have your back.

I'm pro Union.

Choosing to work where there is a union and getting the related benefits of higher wages and collective bargaining, but not paying a fair share of the costs of representation, would be freeloading, right?

In Maine, nobody is required to belong to a union or pay dues.

The real bottom line is, the national unions want their hands on the money.

The reality is that no one can be forced to join a union against their will, and a union cannot take action against those who decide not to join their union.

All the time our union was progressing very nicely. There were lectures to make us understand what trades unionism is and our real position in the labor movement.

Hey, I'm a former union president myself and also an attorney that represented a lot of unions.

Power? Nine workers out of ten still unorganized, and union dues going to bribe middle class politicians. You call that power?

When schoolchildren start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of schoolchildren.

Pension and health benefits are a cornerstone of union protection. When actors' work is split between two unions, that protection is weakened or, in the worst cases, eliminated. That's not acceptable, and it's one of many reasons merging SAG and AFTRA makes sense.

If I were a factory employee, a workman on the railroads or a wage-earner of any sort, I would undoubtedly join the union of my trade. If I disapproved of its policy, I would join in order to fight that policy; if the union leaders were dishonest, I would join in order to put them out. I believe in the union and I believe that all men who are benefited by the union are morally bound to help to the extent of their power in the common interests advanced by the union.

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

I sometimes think that unions don't understand that we live in a free society, and people have the right to not select union representation if they don't want it.

In 1972, I signed a union card for SEIU. And for the last 38 years, 14 as president, it's been my life. I've seen the most miraculous, spectacular things. But there's a time to learn, a time to lead and a time to leave.

I think someone in the union has the right to a private vote, and that's why I'm anti-card check. I grew up in a union family. My grandfather was a coal miner; he was in the union.

Less than 8 percent of private sector workers belonged to a union in 2004, and, overall, only 12.5 percent of American workers carry a union card - down from about one-third of workers in labor's heydays in the 1950s.

That's what unions do. They can get money, they can get support, they can get manpower.

I will never apologize for standing up for my fellow Teamsters and all American workers.

All the evidence shows very clearly that if you are a member of a trade union you are likely to get better pay, more equal pay, better health and safety, more chance to get training, more chance to have conditions of work that help if you have caring responsibilities... the list goes on!

We don't want a third party who may or may not have our best interests in mind or our crew members' best interests in mind because they may be serving a union of one of our competitors. They are trying to equalize us and take away our competitive advantage.

The unions may continue to decline, but if they do, it'll be their fault.

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.