--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must give the American worker the…" description: "\"We must give the American worker the first option of ownership.\" — Jesse Jackson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/jesse-jackson-1161_american-workers_we-must-give-the-american-worker-the-fir_993887.jpg" --- # We must give the American worker the first option of… ![“We must give the American worker the first option of ownership.” quote by Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/jesse-jackson-1161_american-workers_we-must-give-the-american-worker-the-fir_993887.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/jesse-jackson-1161_american-workers_we-must-give-the-american-worker-the-fir_993887.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/jesse-jackson-1161_american-workers_we-must-give-the-american-worker-the-fir_993887.jpg) > “We must give the American worker the first option of ownership.” [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates giving workers ownership stakes as a primary economic right. **In simple terms:** Workers should own their workplaces. Key Takeaway Promote employee ownership models. Themes economics labor rights equity Mood inspirational political Type policy advocacy When to use this quote - business negotiations - policy debates - union organizing - entrepreneurial ventures Key Concepts co‑ownership stakeholder capitalism Questions to Reflect On - How can employee ownership be implemented fairly? - What obstacles exist in shifting ownership structures? A Different Perspective May face resistance from existing shareholders. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) [American Worker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-worker-781061/) [American workers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-workers/) [Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economy/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Liberalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberalism/) [Option Ownership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/option-ownership-2052131/) [Ownership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ownership/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Worker Option](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worker-option-2052130/) [Workers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workers/) ## Related quotes > [Look the, the American worker has been losing - for decades now. We've seen manufacturing in decline here in the industrial Midwest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/look-the-the-american-worker-has-been-losing-for-decades-now-we-ve/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [Let me make our goal in this program very clear: jobs, jobs, jobs, and more jobs. Our policy has been and will continue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/let-me-make-our-goal-in-this-program-very-clear-jobs-jobs-jobs-and/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [We can get America moving again, put on top of that the kind of trade deals that'll put the American worker first, and you've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/we-can-get-america-moving-again-put-on-top-of-that-the-kind-of-trade/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [Every American worker should be able to save for retirement via payroll deductions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-thaler/every-american-worker-should-be-able-to-save-for-retirement-via/) [Richard Thaler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-thaler/) > [The average American worker enjoys amenities for which Croesus, Crassus, the Medici, and Louis XIV would have envied him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-average-american-worker-enjoys-amenities-for-which-croesus/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [The American worker is more productive than he's ever been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/the-american-worker-is-more-productive-than-he-s-ever-been/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [What the American worker needs is more of what WalMart offers and less of what the government offers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/llewellyn-rockwell/what-the-american-worker-needs-is-more-of-what-walmart-offers-and/) [Llewellyn Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/llewellyn-rockwell/) > [If Mr. Trump wants to work with us to make sure that trade works for the American worker, not just CEOs of corporate America,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/if-mr-trump-wants-to-work-with-us-to-make-sure-that-trade-works-for/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [ You are never going to have, in a country as rich as ours \[the USA\], that borders a country as poor as Mexico, an… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-klein/you-are-never-going-to-have-in-a-country-as-rich-as-ours-the-usa-that/) [Ezra Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-klein/) > [I do not imply that in the U.S plants, industrial plants, are places of exploitation where man is oppressed. 1 know that there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/i-do-not-imply-that-in-the-u-s-plants-industrial-plants-are-places-of/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [According to the Tax Foundation, the average American worker works 127 days of the year just to pay his taxes. That means that government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/according-to-the-tax-foundation-the-average-american-worker-works-127/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [The American worker is more productive than he's ever been. We've got more people to do it. We've got all the ingredients for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-warren-buffett/the-american-worker-is-more-productive-than-he-s-ever-been-we-ve-got/) [Howard Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-warren-buffett/) > [I want to make sure that the American worker has an opportunity to see their wages rise and their incomes increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/i-want-to-make-sure-that-the-american-worker-has-an-opportunity-to/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [But on the other hand, there are many corporations who have turned their backs on the American worker, who have said, if I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/but-on-the-other-hand-there-are-many-corporations-who-have-turned/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I'm pro-trade, but I'm pro-sensible trade, not pro-trade that is to the disadvantage of the American worker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbur-ross/i-m-pro-trade-but-i-m-pro-sensible-trade-not-pro-trade-that-is-to-the/) [Wilbur Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbur-ross/) ## More by Jesse Jackson > [If my mind can conceive it ,and my heart can believe it,i known I can achieve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/if-my-mind-can-conceive-it-and-my-heart-can-believe-it-i-known-i-can/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [We reveal our joys and successes, we conceal our pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/we-reveal-our-joys-and-successes-we-conceal-our-pain/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [We blacks were the first people embracing Obama, long before the people at expensive fundraisers were supporting him. We gave him his first love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/we-blacks-were-the-first-people-embracing-obama-long-before-the/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [The coffers are full of money and equipment for the Ferguson Police and the Missouri National Guard to put down a potential uprising, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/the-coffers-are-full-of-money-and-equipment-for-the-ferguson-police/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Many are observing Ferguson and witnessing the anger, demonstrations, looting and vandalism and calling for quiet. But quiet isn't enough. The absence of noise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/many-are-observing-ferguson-and-witnessing-the-anger-demonstrations/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [What's good for the very rich might not be good for anybody but them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/what-s-good-for-the-very-rich-might-not-be-good-for-anybody-but-them/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Those who have the most wealth and the most property, their children have the first, the best, and the most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/those-who-have-the-most-wealth-and-the-most-property-their-children/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Most blacks will argue that they excel because of hard work, because of intellect, determination, sweat, blood, tears and risk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/most-blacks-will-argue-that-they-excel-because-of-hard-work-because/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Pictures can live in one's memory. That's why they are important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/pictures-can-live-in-one-s-memory-that-s-why-they-are-important/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [A check or credit card, a Gucci bag strap, anything of value will do. Give as you live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/a-check-or-credit-card-a-gucci-bag-strap-anything-of-value-will-do/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [When they wrote the Constitution, only white male landowners had the right to vote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/when-they-wrote-the-constitution-only-white-male-landowners-had-the/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [I'm too mature to be angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/i-m-too-mature-to-be-angry/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [We picked their cotton. We cooked their food. We nursed their babies. Now we can run their cities. We can run their states. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/we-picked-their-cotton-we-cooked-their-food-we-nursed-their-babies/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [There are clear patterns of discrimination against Blacks and Latinos. The big banks targeted Blacks and Latinos with toxic packages of subprime predatory lending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/there-are-clear-patterns-of-discrimination-against-blacks-and-latinos/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Few would deny that blacks have become very dominant in athletics: football, basketball, track, now dominant in tennis and dominant in golf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/few-would-deny-that-blacks-have-become-very-dominant-in-athletics/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) [Explore all 281 Jesse Jackson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and employ almost half of the working population. Yet because of their size, they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/small-businesses-are-the-backbone-of-the-american-economy-and-employ/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) [Browse all 7,717 American quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We must give the American worker the first option of ownership.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jesse Jackson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/we-must-give-the-american-worker-the-first-option-of-ownership/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/we-must-give-the-american-worker-the-first-option-of-ownership/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/jesse-jackson-1161_american-workers_we-must-give-the-american-worker-the-fir_993887.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/jesse-jackson-1161_american-workers_we-must-give-the-american-worker-the-fir_993887.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/jesse-jackson-1161_american-workers_we-must-give-the-american-worker-the-fir_993887.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We must give the American worker the first option of ownership.” — Jesse Jackson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jesse Jackson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We must give the American worker...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/we-must-give-the-american-worker-the-first-option-of-ownership/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/we-must-give-the-american-worker-the-first-option-of-ownership/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```