Gompers Quotation
* Your Sept. 5 column, “Labor Landmarks,” inaccurately quotes Samuel Gompers. This common error gives a false and very negative impression of the goals and purpose of the entire union movement in the United States. It should be corrected.
According to the article, “Gompers always summed up what he wanted for his union members as ‘more.’ ” If I recall correctly, that “quote” was a reporter’s one-word synopsis of Gompers’ response to the question, “What does labor want?” Gompers’ actual reply:
“We want more schoolhouses and less jails; more books and less arsenals; more learning and less vice; more constant work and less crime; more leisure and less greed; more justice and less revenge; in fact, more opportunities to cultivate our best natures, to make manhood more noble, womanhood more beautiful, and childhood more happy and bright.”
Gompers’ sentiments continue to be a worthy goal for organized labor and for this nation.
R. DOUGLAS COLLINS
West Hills
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
