Political Quotes

“Mr. President, let's turn to another attack on workers. Our entire Constitution had a theme, had a mission statement, and that mission statement was ``we the people,'' government of, by, and for the people. My colleagues might be surprised to discover that the Constitution didn't say ``we the privileged; we the wealthy; we the well-connected; we the powerful'' because they bring bill after bill to the floor of the Senate that is exactly government of, by, and for the wealthy and the well-connected. Now we see that the Supreme Court is getting in on the act in this effort to undermine the ability of workers to organize, to get a fair share of the wealth that they create. Former President Jimmy Carter once said: Every advance in this half-century--Social Security, civil rights, Medicare, aid to education, one after another--came with the support and leadership of American labor. Well, he was absolutely right. I would also add a few more things to the list, such as 8-hour workdays, the 40-hour workweek, overtime pay, the minimum wage, family and sick leave, health and safety working standards. When workers have organized, they have fought for better conditions for every American--better pay, better safety, better and fair working conditions--and America is a better nation because of it. It is a much better nation because of the men and women of the labor movement who have fought tirelessly to ensure that our country lives up to that ``we the people'' vision statement.…”