--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [The labor movement is] a movement of the…" description: "\"[The labor movement is] a movement of the working people, for the working people, by the working people, governed by ourselves, with its policies deter..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/124/samuel-gompers-16712_determined_the-labor-movement-is-a-movement-of-the_2786857.jpg" --- # \[The labor movement is\] a movement of the working people… ![“[The labor movement is] a movement of the working people, for the working people, by the working people, governed by ourselves, with its policies determined by ourselves.” quote by Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/124/samuel-gompers-16712_determined_the-labor-movement-is-a-movement-of-the_2786857.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/124/samuel-gompers-16712_determined_the-labor-movement-is-a-movement-of-the_2786857.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/124/samuel-gompers-16712_determined_the-labor-movement-is-a-movement-of-the_2786857.jpg) > “\[The labor movement is\] a movement of the working people, for the working people, by the working people, governed by ourselves, with its policies determined by ourselves.” [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The labor movement is driven by workers for workers, emphasizing self‑governance and collective decision‑making in policy creation **In simple terms:** Workers should control policies that affect them Key Takeaway Empower worker self‑governance Themes labor democracy collectivism Mood determined inspirational Type political activist When to use this quote - union negotiations - political campaigns - policy drafting Key Concepts political economy social movements grassroots organizing Questions to Reflect On - How can workers maintain autonomy in policy decisions? - What obstacles arise when implementing worker‑controlled policies? A Different Perspective Self‑governance can be hindered by external political forces ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Determined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determined/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Labor movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor-movement/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Working people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-people/) ## Related quotes > [Our movement is of the working people, for the working people, by the working people. . . . There is not a right too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gompers/our-movement-is-of-the-working-people-for-the-working-people-by-the/) [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) > [In less than a century we experienced great movement. The youth movement! The labor movement! The civil rights movement! The peace movement! The solidarity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-near/in-less-than-a-century-we-experienced-great-movement-the-youth/) [Holly Near](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-near/) > [If the only time you bang the drum is when it's time to get someone elected, and you don't get involved in a mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/if-the-only-time-you-bang-the-drum-is-when-it-s-time-to-get-someone/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [I wasn't part of any movement. I was working alone, following my instinct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/i-wasn-t-part-of-any-movement-i-was-working-alone-following-my/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [English audiences of working people are like an instrument that responds to the player. Thought ripples up and down them, and if in some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-heaton-vorse/english-audiences-of-working-people-are-like-an-instrument-that/) [Mary Heaton Vorse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-heaton-vorse/) > [I don't feel that there is anything deep in the political culture that prevents "educating the masses." I'm old enough to recall vividly the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-feel-that-there-is-anything-deep-in-the-political-culture/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [W.Z. Foster {head of the American Communist Party}, who had no money, went to Moscow and came back and announced that he was building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gompers/w-z-foster-head-of-the-american-communist-party-who-had-no-money-went/) [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) > [So long as we have held fast to voluntary principles and have been actuated and inspired by the spirit of service, we have sustained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gompers/so-long-as-we-have-held-fast-to-voluntary-principles-and-have-been/) [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) > [Let's start a movement - a movement of men who aren't afraid to stop violence against women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-andres-gomez/let-s-start-a-movement-a-movement-of-men-who-aren-t-afraid-to-stop/) Carlos Andres Gomez > [PnB is like a movement, a whole movement is going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pnb-rock/pnb-is-like-a-movement-a-whole-movement-is-going-on/) [PnB Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pnb-rock/) > [Any upward movement is movement for us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/any-upward-movement-is-movement-for-us-all/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [I do not believe in political movements. I believe in personal movement, that movement of the soul when a man who looks at himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/i-do-not-believe-in-political-movements-i-believe-in-personal/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [The HiiiPower Movement is a movement that's going on all throughout the world like a virus. It's about being on a higher level than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/the-hiiipower-movement-is-a-movement-that-s-going-on-all-throughout/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [A movement only becomes a movement of substance, size, and power when the artists say 'we want to add our voice.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kumi-naidoo/a-movement-only-becomes-a-movement-of-substance-size-and-power-when/) [Kumi Naidoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kumi-naidoo/) > [“It is the responsibility of every human, not just dancers, sports stars, kids, and Olympians—to move. To embrace movement. To become movement. To live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-diaz/it-is-the-responsibility-of-every-human-not-just-dancers-sports-stars/) [Cameron Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-diaz/) ## More by Samuel Gompers > [What does labor want? We want more schoolhouses and less jails; more books and less arsenals; more learning and less vice; more leisure and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gompers/what-does-labor-want-we-want-more-schoolhouses-and-less-jails-more/) [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) > [There is not a right too long denied to which we do not aspire in order to achieve; there is not a wrong too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gompers/there-is-not-a-right-too-long-denied-to-which-we-do-not-aspire-in/) [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) > [Our mission has been the protection of the wage-worker, now; to increase his wages; to cut hours off the long workday, which was killing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gompers/our-mission-has-been-the-protection-of-the-wage-worker-now-to/) [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) > [There may be here and there a worker who for certain reasons unexplainable to us does not join a union of labor. That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gompers/there-may-be-here-and-there-a-worker-who-for-certain-reasons/) [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) > [Time is the most valuable thing on earth: time to think, time to act, time to extend our fraternal relations, time to become better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gompers/time-is-the-most-valuable-thing-on-earth-time-to-think-time-to-act/) [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) > [No lasting gain has ever come from compulsion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gompers/no-lasting-gain-has-ever-come-from-compulsion/) [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) > [To be free, the workers must have choice. To have choice they must retain in their own hands the right to determine under what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gompers/to-be-free-the-workers-must-have-choice-to-have-choice-they-must/) [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) > [“Great minds like a think -The Economist-”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gompers/great-minds-like-a-think-the-economist/) [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) > [So long as we have held fast to voluntary principles and have been actuated and inspired by the spirit of service, we have sustained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gompers/so-long-as-we-have-held-fast-to-voluntary-principles-and-have-been/) [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) > [All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gompers/all-other-holidays-are-in-a-more-or-less-degree-connected-with/) [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) > [Our movement is of the working people, for the working people, by the working people. . . . 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That is that when compulsion is used, only resentment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gompers/one-fact-stands-out-in-bold-relief-in-the-history-of-man-s-attempts/) [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) > [The labor of a human being is not a commodity or article of commerce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gompers/the-labor-of-a-human-being-is-not-a-commodity-or-article-of-commerce/) [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) [Explore all 39 Samuel Gompers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) ## More Determined quotes > [Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/human-beings-have-an-innate-inner-drive-to-be-autonomous-self/) [Daniel H. 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Certainly nothing can keep you down if you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/always-remember-there-is-more-strength-in-you-than-you-ever-realized/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [If a Coach is determined to stay in the coaching profession, he will develop from year to year. This much is true, no coach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolph-rupp/if-a-coach-is-determined-to-stay-in-the-coaching-profession-he-will/) [Adolph Rupp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolph-rupp/) > [Early experience shapes the structure and function of the brain. This reveals the fundamental way in which gene expression is determined by experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-siegel/early-experience-shapes-the-structure-and-function-of-the-brain-this/) [Daniel J. Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-siegel/) > [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/) J. Willard Gibbs > [The more we sense...our ultimate potential, the more determined we become to achieve it. It's the difference between your mother hounding you to practice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-l-dew/the-more-we-sense-our-ultimate-potential-the-more-determined-we/) [Sheri L. Dew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-l-dew/) > [How could a readiness for war in time of peace be safely prohibited, unless we could prohibit, in like manner, the preparations and establishments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/how-could-a-readiness-for-war-in-time-of-peace-be-safely-prohibited/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [Further conceive, I beg, that a stone, while continuing in motion, should be capable of thinking and knowing, that it is endeavoring, as far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/further-conceive-i-beg-that-a-stone-while-continuing-in-motion-should/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Your success will be determined by the quality of your relationships with people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/your-success-will-be-determined-by-the-quality-of-your-relationships/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [I've always been competitive and determined. 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