The balancing of the budget will not in itself place a teaspoonful of milk in a hungry baby's stomach, or remove the rags from its mother's back.
John L. LewisRead
The union miner cannot agree to the acceptance of a wage principle which will permit his annual earnings and his living standards to be determined by the hungriest unfortunates whom the non-union operators can employ.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of fair wages and working conditions for union miners, highlighting the need to resist competition that drives down earnings.
John L. Lewis articulates a core principle of labor unions: that workers should not have their wages and living standards dictated by those who are willing to accept lower pay just to secure employment. This reflects the struggle for dignity and fair compensation in the context of a competitive labor market where exploitation can undermine the rights and livelihoods of workers.
Themes
UnionMinersWageLaborStandardsEmploymentExploitation
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared during a labor rights rally to emphasize the importance of union solidarity.
More from John L. Lewis
All quotes →The labor movement is organized upon a principle that the strong shall help the weak.
John L. LewisRead
The workers of the nation were tired of waiting for corporate industry to right their economic wrongs, to alleviate their social agony and to grant them their political rights. Despairing of fair treatment, they resolved to do something for themselves.
John L. LewisRead
The organized workers of America, free in their industrial life, conscious partners in production, secure in their homes and enjoying a decent standard of living, will prove the finest bulwark against the intrusion of alien doctrines of government.
John L. LewisRead
Courage is not how a man stands or falls, but how he gets back up again
John L. LewisRead
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