"Mourn for the dead. Fight for the living."

"Time is the most valuable thing on earth: time to think, time to act, time to extend our fraternal relations, time to become better men, time to become better women, time to become better and more independent citizens."

"The important role of union organizations must be admitted: their object is the representation of the various categories of workers, their lawful collaboration in the economic advance of society, and the development of the sense of their responsibility for the realization of the common good."

"Yes, you need the water. Yes, you need the sun. But that alone won't give you the plant. You need the working hands to give it life."

"We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee."

"The plain truth is that labor is the chief representative force that keeps the real special interests from dominating American political life."

"If you ever get to the place where injustice doesn't bother you, you're dead."

"The history of America has been largely created by the deeds of its working people and their organizations. Nor has this contribution been confined to raising wages and bettering work conditions; it has been fundamental to almost every effort to extend and strengthen our democracy."

"The American trade union movement - unlike any other labor movement in the world - is committed to working within the American political and economic system in order to achieve the social and economic justice promised by the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution."

"I seek to rise with workers, not from them."