Rose Schneiderman Quotes & Sayings

“Of course, we knew that this meant an attack on the union. The bosses intended gradually to get rid of us, employing in our place child labor and raw immigrant girls who would work for next to nothing.”

“The old Inquisition had its rack and its thumbscrews and its instruments of torture with iron teeth.”

“I would be a traitor to these poor burned bodies if I came here to talk good fellowship.”

“The worker must have bread, but she must have roses, too. Help, you women of privilege, give her the ballot to fight with.”

“All the time our union was progressing very nicely. There were lectures to make us understand what trades unionism is and our real position in the labor movement.”

“So we must stand together to resist, for we will get what we can take - just that and no more.”

“By working hard we could make an average of about $5 a week. We would have made more but had to provide our own machines, which cost us $45, we paying for them on the installment plan. We paid $5 down and $1 a month after that.”

“The life of men and women is so cheap and property is so sacred. There are so many of us for one job it matters little if 146 of us are burned to death.”

“I can't talk fellowship to you who are gathered here. Too much blood has been spilled. I know from my experience it is up to the working people to save themselves. The only way they can save themselves is by a strong working-class movement.”

“Surely these women won't lose any more of their beauty and charm by putting a ballot in a ballot box once a year than they are likely to lose standing in foundries or laundries all year round. There is no harder contest than the contest for bread, let me tell you that.”