Political Quotes

“As I listened to you and the gentlewoman, you just sort of sparked some memories of mine. And especially as we talked about how much a part of our democracy union organizing and the development of labor unions is. I am reminded that Benjamin Franklin, one of the fathers of the country, father of the Constitution, Franklin organized the printer's union and one of the very first unions that existed. I mean Benjamin Franklin, even then, understanding the need for people to come together. Then we go down the line, Franklin Delano Roosevelt etched the right to organize into the legal component of our country, of our country. Martin Luther King was actually organizing sanitation workers in Memphis when he was killed. So there has always been a relationship between the quest for overall freedom and development of all people in this country and the organization of labor unions. Actually, Benjamin Franklin was also an abolitionist, so there was an easing merging of the recognition of both. One of the reasons, I think, that other nations with all of our problems, with all of our needs, but one of the reasons that other nations often seek to emulate us is because we have this ongoing component of struggle, never ending, always becoming, always recognizing, yes, we have made a lot of progress, we have come a long way, but there is still great distances to go.”