I think we have to be fair in saying at this point that neither Roosevelt nor Lewis realized the peril to which they were exposing both the unions and the country.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
People have to be reminded that unions played a very historic role in our economy.
Had Roosevelt been caught, we would have been in a lot of trouble. It would have been very embarrassing.
This is the crux of the problem: because the Republicans and the right wing have been successful in almost eliminating unions, everyone else has suffered as a result.
It is true that they paid much more attention to the trade unions because the trade unions were after all speaking for the rights and conditions of working men and women in their employment.
I think it is just stupid economics for a government to approach economic management from a strand of thinking regarding unions as enemies.
If I were the president of the United States, I would make unions illegal. They no longer serve a functional purpose in democracy, in my view.
They knew that Roosevelt and the Democratic party made a difference on them, on their quality of life issues, and they believed in that. But today it is completely different.
I really don't think that the public-sector employees should be unionized.
There has been a huge attack against private sector unions. Actually, that's been going on since the Second World War.
Well, I'm not trying to get rid of the unions, but I am saying that they appear to be an antiquated concept in today's economy.
No opposing quotes found.