The wit and wisdom of Doug

“I suppose you could say I belonged to the union before I went to work because we talked about it all the time.”

“I was a teenager in the Depression. I saw misery and despair. I was angry at the injustice of it all and it had an impact on me the rest of my life.”

(On working in a 1930s auto factory)
“The best way to describe it … there was no dignity. You couldn’t question any decisions and you couldn’t dissent.”

“We’re willing to sacrifice, but only if there’s an equality of sacrifice – if every segment of the economy sacrifices equally. We’ve been saying for a long time that there is not a wage-price spiral at all now but a price-wage spiral.”

“Workers must have a say in the corporate decision-making process that so affects their lives.”

“Nothing's too good for the workers.”

(In response to an economist in 1980 saying autoworkers should stop complaining about low-wage competition and take a big pay cut) “No one has a bigger stake in the fight to remain noncompetitive with foreign producers than the worker. … Competing on wages with countries that share only minimally the benefits of productivity with their workers can hardly be an appropriate national goal for America.”

“The true spirit of our democratic society embraces the fundamental rights of workers to organize and to have safe and secure jobs in democratic workplaces.”

(On passing the presidential gavel to Owen Bieber)
“He had a hell of a time getting it out of my hand.”