So May 4th in the labor movement has always been an important date.

The labor movement is our brother's keeper! The labor movement is our sister's keeper!

Ten thousand times has the labor movement stumbled and bruised itself. We have been enjoined by the courts, assaulted by thugs, charged by the militia, traduced by the press, frowned upon in public opinion, and deceived by politicians. 'But notwithstanding all this and all these, labor is today the most vital and potential power this planet has ever known, and its historic mission is as certain of ultimate realization as is the setting of the sun.

My parents had been involved in the labor movement; if we'd grown up in the city, we would have been red-diaper babies.

Well, we see an increasingly weaker labor movement as a result of the overall assault on the labor movement and as a result of the globalization of capital.

The question is always 'What is the role of a labor movement?' How much is about collective bargaining, how much is about social change for all workers?