Freedom of Speech - First Amendment
"The freedom of speech and the freedom of the press have not been granted to the people in order that they may say things which please, and which are based upon accepted thought, but the right to say the things which displease, the right to say the things which convey the new and yet unexpected thoughts, the right to say things, even though they do a wrong."
Read more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Gompers
COMMENT:
Two weeks after LABOR DAY in the US thinking about the holiday weekend granted to celebrate labor, not everyone's labor, but the labor union movement. Times have changed significantly and reading about Samuel Gompers - his personal history, beliefs and achievements one must wonder how times have changed in the last 100 years.
Mr. Gompers was a founding member of the American Federation of Labor. Unions have gotten a bad rap these days, but there is a significant difference between the reasons for the formation of unions at the turn of the last century and now.
"And what have our unions done? What do they aim to do? To improve the standard of life, to uproot ignorance and foster education, to instill character, manhood and independent spirit among our people; to bring about a recognition of the interdependence of man upon his fellow man. We aim to establish a normal work-day, to take the children from the factory and workshop and give them the opportunity of the school and the play-ground. In a word, our unions strive to lighten toil, educate their members, make their homes more cheerful, and in every way contribute an earnest effort toward making life the better worth living.[45]"
Here's something that our union leaders haven't said recently......
"The worst crime against working people is a company which fails to operate at a profit.[42]"
Read more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Gompers
And: http://www.notablebiographies.com/Gi-He/Gompers-Samuel.html
And from: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAgompers.htm the following bits of history:
"Gompers was very hostile to socialism. "The Socialists in our organization formed an inner clique for the purpose of controlling elections and voters upon legislation. Socialist publications, Socialist organizers and propagandists spread the poison of hatred and discontent, thus weakening confidence in the integrity of the officers of the union. According to my experience professional Socialism accompanies instability of judgment or intellectual undependability caused by an inability to recognize facts. The conspicuous Socialists have uniformly been men whose minds have been warped by a great failure or who found it absolutely impossible to understand fundamentals necessary to developing practical plans for industrial betterment."
Gompers held conservative political views and believed that trade unionists should accept the economic system. As a result, a rival, more radical organisation, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) was formed. However, numbers of members remained small compared to American Federation of Labour."
From: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAgompers.htm
This last reference (above) is very interesting from a viewpoint of the current state of US politics....with a brief quote below (see the article above for more information or read the auto biography of Samuel Gompers in "Seventy Years of Life and Labor" originally published in 1925 after his death.
Samuel Gompers
(1850-1924)
Source: Seventy Years of Life and Labor, 1925
From WIKIPEDIA:
Samuel Gompers[1] (January 27, 1850 – December 13, 1924) was an English-born American cigar maker who became a labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL), and served as that organization's president from 1886 to 1894 and from 1895 until his death in 1924. He promoted harmony among the different craft unions that comprised the AFL, trying to minimize jurisdictional battles. He promoted "thorough" organization and collective bargaining to secure shorter hours and higher wages, the first essential steps, he believed, to emancipating labor. He also encouraged the AFL to take political action to "elect their friends" and "defeat their enemies."[2] During World War I, Gompers and the AFL openly supported the war effort[3][4], attempting to avoid strikes and boost morale while raising wage rates and expanding membership.
COMMENT:
Two weeks after LABOR DAY in the US thinking about the holiday weekend granted to celebrate labor, not everyone's labor, but the labor union movement. Times have changed significantly and reading about Samuel Gompers - his personal history, beliefs and achievements one must wonder how times have changed in the last 100 years.
Mr. Gompers was a founding member of the American Federation of Labor. Unions have gotten a bad rap these days, but there is a significant difference between the reasons for the formation of unions at the turn of the last century and now.
"And what have our unions done? What do they aim to do? To improve the standard of life, to uproot ignorance and foster education, to instill character, manhood and independent spirit among our people; to bring about a recognition of the interdependence of man upon his fellow man. We aim to establish a normal work-day, to take the children from the factory and workshop and give them the opportunity of the school and the play-ground. In a word, our unions strive to lighten toil, educate their members, make their homes more cheerful, and in every way contribute an earnest effort toward making life the better worth living.[45]"
Here's something that our union leaders haven't said recently......
"The worst crime against working people is a company which fails to operate at a profit.[42]"
Read more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Gompers
And: http://www.notablebiographies.com/Gi-He/Gompers-Samuel.html
And from: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAgompers.htm the following bits of history:
"Gompers was very hostile to socialism. "The Socialists in our organization formed an inner clique for the purpose of controlling elections and voters upon legislation. Socialist publications, Socialist organizers and propagandists spread the poison of hatred and discontent, thus weakening confidence in the integrity of the officers of the union. According to my experience professional Socialism accompanies instability of judgment or intellectual undependability caused by an inability to recognize facts. The conspicuous Socialists have uniformly been men whose minds have been warped by a great failure or who found it absolutely impossible to understand fundamentals necessary to developing practical plans for industrial betterment."
Gompers held conservative political views and believed that trade unionists should accept the economic system. As a result, a rival, more radical organisation, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) was formed. However, numbers of members remained small compared to American Federation of Labour."
From: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAgompers.htm
This last reference (above) is very interesting from a viewpoint of the current state of US politics....with a brief quote below (see the article above for more information or read the auto biography of Samuel Gompers in "Seventy Years of Life and Labor" originally published in 1925 after his death.
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