• “Let us fight on! The labor union spirit of justice, right, and humanity inspired this deathless cause. Organized labor fights to establish social and economic justice, as well as old-age security; to abolish low wages and standards, poverty, intolerance, misery; to ensure that every person is given an equal opportunity to enjoy peace, happiness, success, and security.”
  • “The future is ours. What we do today determines how the world shall go. Tomorrow is made up of the sum total of today’s experiences. No one knows how slight a change may reshape the pattern to our heart’s desire. Far from feeling hopeless or helpless, we must seize every opportunity, however small, to help the world.”
  • “The Labor Movement means more than shorter hours, higher wages, and improved working conditions. It means the intellectual development of wage earners, who carry that independence from work into daily life. The trade unionist is interested in every political, social, and economic question; by his constructive statesmanship, he demands democracy shall function.”

Reuben G. Soderstrom Foundation

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The RGS Foundation is dedicated to preserving and promoting the work and vision of Illinois Labor's most prolific advocate, Illinois AFL-CIO President Reuben G. Soderstrom. Our biographical page provides details on the life and legacy of Reuben Soderstrom, his family, and the Illinois AFL-CIO. The digital archives are home to the current and continually expanding collection of textual and audiovisual records of Soderstrom's life of public service, from his first term as an Illinois State Representative to his 40-year tenure as President of the Illinois AFL and Illinois AFL-CIO. Click on press to download informational flyers and photos of Reuben Soderstrom. Enter our tributes section to learn more about past and upcoming events concerning President Soderstrom, including the Soderstrom plaza dedication and library restoration in Streator, Illinois, as well as the upcoming release of Forty Gavels, the definitive three-volume study of the life of Reuben Soderstrom and the Illinois AFL-CIO.