“Firemen are loyal Americans; that is a fact. They have bought Liberty Bonds, War Savings Stamps and contributed to all the war funds until it hurts, shed their blood on the battlefields of Europe, that the world might be saved for democracy. But when they ask for democracy for themselves it is denied them. If they ask for the right to organize, the wrath of the powers that be are immediately brought down upon their devoted heads. If they ask for a living wage, the city authorities throw up their hand and smilingly inform them ‘we have no money.’ If they ask for a shorter working day, they are told, ‘you are not working all the time, even if you are on duty; you are unpatriotic for even thinking of such a thing.”
Thomas Spellacy, IAFF President (1918-1919)
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