Mastodawn

We have been accused of being selfish, and it has been said that we will want more; that last year we got an advance of ten cents and now we want more. We do want more. You will find that a man generally wants more. Go and ask a tramp what he wants, and if he doesn’t want a drink he will want a good, square meal. You ask a workingman, who is getting two dollars a day, and he will say that he wants ten cents more. Ask a man who gets five dollars a day and he will want fifty cents more. The man who receives five thousand dollars a year wants six thousand a year, and the man who owns eight or nine hundred thousand dollars will want a hundred thousand dollars to make it a million, while the man who has his millions will want everything he can lay his hands on and then raise his voice against the poor devil who wants ten cents more a day.

Samuel Gompers (1850-1924) British-American cigar maker, activist, labor leader [b. Samuel Gumpertz]
Speech (1890-05-01), “What Does the Working Man Want,” American Federation of Labor Convention, Louisville, Kentucky

More info about this quote: wist.info/gompers-samuel/80389…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #gompers #samuelgompers #avarice #greed #perspective #raise #wages #want #wealth

Speech (1890-05-01), "What Does the Working Man Want," American Federation of Labor Convention, Louisville, Kentucky - Gompers, Samuel | WIST Quotations

WIST Quotations

MikeDunnAuthor Aug 10, 2023

Today in Labor History August 10, 1901: The U.S. Steel recognition strike by the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers (AA) began. AA formed in 1876 and was declining significantly in size and power by 1901. Technological advances had caused significant downsizing in the steel industry, with many highly skilled workers being fired and replaced by more easily interchangeable, and more poorly trained, workers to operate the newer machines. In 1892, AA had lost the infamous Homestead strike, against Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick, in which 12 people were killed. By 1901, nearly all the major metal fabricators had joined the new U.S. Steel trust, including J.P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie. AA saw the writing on the wall and made a last-ditch, desperate attempt to organize all the steel and tin workers before the limitless resources of the new trust could crush them. And they failed, rather quickly and spectacularly, when the strike ended on September 14, 1901.

In the aftermath of the strike, many of the socialist and anarchist union leaders, and rank and file workers, blamed Samuel Gompers (of the newish American Federation of Labor) and Johnny Mitchell (of the United Mine Workers) of being too cozy with the corporate bosses and politicians, and of selling them out. This led to increasing conflict in the following years between the more radical elements of the labor movement and the more mainstream tendencies. It slowed down the growth of the conservative AFofL and, ultimately, to Mitchell’s removal as head of the UMW, in 1908. The AA, however, grew increasingly conservative, and weaker, and by 1909 ceased to be a relevant force in the labor movement.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #union #strike #steel #socialism #carnegie #JPMorgan #umw #afl #samuelGompers #anarchism #WorkerMassacre

Elizabeth Winter Apr 2, 2023

How Regulation Came to Be: Triangle Shirtwaist Fire (19th in series)

Just east of Washington Square Park in downtown Manhattan is the building that once housed the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. It’s now part of NYU. All that remains is a plaque.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2010/3/21/846135/-How-regulation-came-to-be:-The-Triangle-Shirtwaist-Fire

#HowRegulationCameToBe #Regulation #History #Manhattan #TriangeShirtwaistFire #ILGWU #AFL #SamuelGompers #HiredThugs #AutomaticSprinkers #FireEscapes #FireExtinguishers #FrancesPerkins #WashingtonSquare

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bs2 Mar 17, 2023

#AlsexCarey in #TakingTheRiskOutOfDemocracy writes of #Propaganda, the #PR techniques like the #MowhakValleyForumula being used in 1919 during the #GreatSteelStrike. They were working 84-hour weeks in bad conditions and still had pubiic opinion turned against them. In addition to #HaroldLasswell he quotes #WalterLippman and #EdwardBernays too. #SamuelGompers had a tough time!

@bsmall2