Jan Schakowsky Quotes

What labor is demanding all over the world today is not a few material things like more dollars and fewer hours of work, but the right to a voice in the conduct of industry.

And I believe we should strengthen unions which have formed the bedrock of a strong middle class. It should be easier to bargain collectively. That's not only fair, it makes workers more productive, it strengthens our economy.

Instead of focusing on attacking unions and the labor movement, we need to find ways to strengthen and empower workers so we can put more money in the pockets of middle class families.

Unions did in fact build the middle class. And here's what that did. That built the United States of America as we know it.

In Finland, where 80 percent of workers belong to unions, all employees enjoy at least 30 days paid vacation, and the gap between the rich and poor is far more equitable than in the United States.

The labor question is the same the world over, and laborers of the world should clasp hands for their common wealth.

The Church fully supports the right of workers to form unions or other associations to secure their rights to fair wages and working conditions.

Labor unions are the worst thing that ever struck the earth because they take away a man's independence.

The picket line is the best place to train organizers. One day on the picket line is where a man makes his commitment. The longer on the picket line, the stronger the commitment. A lot of workers think they make their commitment by walking off the job when nobody sees them. But you get a guy to walk off the field when his boss is watching and, in front of the other guys, throw down his tools and march right to the picket line, that is the guy who makes our strike. The picket line is a beautiful thing because it makes a man more human.

Before there were unions, there was no middle class.

Unions have been under attack for quite some time, and I think a lot of the jobs that we need to create in this country need to be union jobs. People want to be able to get a job that they can rely on to feed their family and pay their bills.

Labor Day is a time to recognize and reflect on that work, and for elected officials to recommit to the too-often ignored task of fighting to improve the lives of working families.

While most American labor unions have struggled for the past several decades, professional baseball players comprise one of the strongest packs of organized workers in the world.

Although unions may be good for a worker, singular, they are not always good for workers, plural. Especially when it comes to finding a job.

The union movement has been the best middle class job creating program that America has ever had, and it doesn't cost the government a dime.

By the mid-1950s, more than a third of all America workers in the private sector were unionized. And the unions demanded and received a fair slice of the American pie.

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

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.

My problem with unions is they breed mediocrity.

Trade unionism is not a discovery or a formula. It grew and evolved slowly out of the needs of human experience.

There can be no distress, there can be no hard times, when labor is well paid. The man who raises his hand against the progress of the workingman raises his hand against prosperity.

Not a penny off the pay. Not a minute on the day.

The only way a workingman can get anything is by collective bargaining, and by saying "If you don't give us a raise, not only will I quit but we will all quit and tie up your business

It's impossible to write the history of freedom in this country without telling how trade unions have contributed to it.

My heart lies with the workers.