Tom Perez Quotes

Affirm the priority of work over capital and the fact that material goods are meant for all … The priority of work over capital places an obligation in justice upon employers to consider the welfare of the workers before the increase of profits.

Labor Day is a time to recognize and reflect on that work, and for elected officials to recommit to the too-often ignored task of fighting to improve the lives of working families.

Labor Day symbolizes our determination to achieve an economic freedom for the average man which will give his political freedom realty.

I believe very strongly in paid sick leave.

There's a wider agenda that speaks to what the Democratic Party has historically stood for, which are economic rights for those who are struggling in the middle class, concern for the poor, for economic justice for those who are marginalized in our society.

I may, and I think I represent a tradition that means a lot to me, which has really always been about fighting for others, for middle-class families, for working class - for working people, you know, and that's a tradition and a commitment that I take very seriously.

We need to give workers more control over their training, health care, and their pensions.

There can be no distress, there can be no hard times, when labor is well paid. The man who raises his hand against the progress of the workingman raises his hand against prosperity.

The obligation to earn one's bread presumes the right to do so. A society that denies this right cannot be justified, nor can it attain social peace.

I, however, wished to win over the soul of the German workingman, and I fought zealously to attain this goal. I was filled with the consciousness of a plain duty and responsibility toward my entire people--also, therefore, toward the laboring classes. What was theirs by right and justice should become theirs, I thought; moreover, I believed that this should be brought about, wherever the will or power of the employers ceased, by the lord of the land and his government, in so far as justice or necessity demanded. As soon as I had recognized the necessity for reforms, to some of which the industrial elements would not consent, I took up the cudgels for the laboring classes, impelled by a sense of justice.

Labor is not fighting for a larger slice of the national pie. Labor is fighting for a larger pie.

Our party feels that we need to have fair compensation, living wage, good benefits, and decent treatment of workers, and that we can do that and still be competitive on a global basis.

Instead of focusing on attacking unions and the labor movement, we need to find ways to strengthen and empower workers so we can put more money in the pockets of middle class families.

For me, the labor movement and public education are linked as the essential building blocks to a strong middle class and a path to the American dream. It's why I went to Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations as an undergrad and then to law school.

Before there were unions, there was no middle class.

I know this: Secretary Clinton will fight for working families, and that's what I'm going to do as well.

I'm trying to stand up so that the middle class, the working class, can finally have a say. I put them as my No. 1 priority.

I will strengthen our unions and our middle-class families so that no longer will they be pushed around by employers but will finally have a seat at the table.

Middle class Americans don't ask for special favors, they just want basic fairness, and a President who fights for that ideal.

How come you don't work fourteen hours a day? Your great-great-grandparents did. How come you only work the eight-hour day? Four guys got hanged fighting for the eight-hour day for you.

Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration

I have spent the better part of my adult life standing up and fighting for working families.

Workers' rights should be a central focus of development.

Our society is connecting workers with the products people consume and recognizing workers for their contributions. It is important to do that, and to have organized labor - a middle class - to preserve our democracy.

Voluntary paid maternity leave: yes; compulsory paid maternity leave: over this Government’s dead body, frankly. It just won’t happen.