aattp.org: These 20 Quotes Will Make Union-Bashing Conservatives Lose Their Minds!

[Omaha Steve]

http://aattp.org/these-20-quotes-will-make-union-bashing-conservatives-lose-their-minds/




http://aattp.org/these-20-quotes-will-make-union-bashing-conservatives-lose-their-minds/


When America was born, there was nothing resembling unions, not as we know them today. It was illegal for workers to strike or prevent others from working. In 1806, a small group of journeyman shoemakers put that to the test and were convicted of criminal conspiracy.

The first fledgling union was the New York Workingmen’s Party which was formed in 1829 and disappeared a year later. Through the next 80 years, workers fought for higher wages and better hours. There were riots, murders, vandalism and battles, all of which led to The American Federation of Labor forming in 1886. Headed by Samuel Gompers, the AFL fought for shorter hours, higher wages, safer working conditions and more respect for workers. State and federal legislatures finally got the picture and began to pass bills in support of labor’s goals in the early 20th century.

Even as labor made strides forward, laissez-faire thinking still held strong. It took until 1914?s Clayton Antitrust Act before unions were acknowledged as lawful organizations and that strikes, boycotts and picketing were legal. Franklin Roosevelt’s Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 encouraged collective bargaining, set maximum hours, wage standards and prohibited child labor.

Through the post-WWII years, the turbulent 1960s and into the 21st century, unions have been the bulwark between workers and those who would exploit them. The efforts by current-day Republicans to destroy unions are driven by corporations who seek to get the most work for the least amount of pay. Unions like AFL-CIO, SEIU, AFSCME and APWU are still the front line against worker exploitation. Right now, the focus is on the minimum wage, but we must remain vigilant as the oligarchy would love to have slaves again.

These quotes remind us why unions are important and why working Americans should support them:

20. This is the spirit that is back of all the great struggles of the workers to improve their working conditions. Liberty and freedom for collective bargaining is what they want and what they must have.— Mary Anderson

FULL story at link.

[freshwest]

1. Great quotes, thanks.