"We do not need to kill or destroy to win. We are a movement that builds and not destroys."

"However important the struggle is and however much misery and poverty and degradation exist, we know that it cannot be more important than one human life."

"Our union represents a breaking away...represents sharing a power, represent questioning, represents a new force...however long it takes, we are geared for a struggle."

"If you give yourself totally to the nonviolence struggle for peace and justice you also find that people give you their hearts and you will never go hungry and never be alone."

"I think one of the great, great problems...is confusing people to the point where they become immobile. In fact, the more things people can find out for themselves, the more vigor the organization is going to have."

"If you win non-violently, then you have a double victory, you have not only won your fight, but you remain free."

"We're going to pray a lot and picket a lot."

"The strike and the boycott, they have cost us much. What they have not paid us in wages, better working conditions, and new contracts, they have paid us in self-respect and human dignity."

"Non-violence has suffered its biggest defeat in the hands of people who most want to talk about it."

"We are organizers at heart. Most of us in the movement take great pride in being able to put things together."

"In non-violence the cause has to be just and clear as well as the means."

"Violence just hurts those who are already hurt...Instead of exposing the brutality of the oppressor, it justifies it."

"Organizing is an educational process. The best educational process in the union is the picket line and the boycott. You learn about life."

"We are certain God's will is that all men share in the good things this earth produces."

"You know, if people are not pacifists, it's not their fault. It's because society puts them in that spot. You've got to change it. You don't just change a man - you've got to change his environment as you do it."

"Look at the John Birch Society. Look at Hitler. The reactionaries are always better organizers."

"The only ones who make things change are fanatics. If you're not a fanatic around here, you can't cut it."

"If we are full of hatred, we can't really do our work. Hatred saps all that strength and energy we need to plan."

"Non-violence exacts a very high price from one who practices it. But once you are able to meet that demand then you can do most things."

"Non violence means people in action. People have to understand that with non-violence goes a hell of a lot of organization."

"We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that the animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect them and love them as we love ourselves."

"The basis for peace is respecting all creatures."

"I would not take one cup of coffee from a grower...There's not a good one. I hate them. A few presents, a little talk, then the noose. That's how capitalism works."

"If you're not frightened that you might fail, you'll never do the job. If you're frightened, you'll work like crazy."

"The non-violent technique does not depend for its success on the goodwill of the oppressor, but rather on the unfailing assistance of God."

"Years of misguided teaching have resulted in the destruction of the best in our society, in our cultures and in the environment."

"When a man or woman, young, or old, takes a place on the picket line for even a day or two, he will never be the same again."

"What is at stake is human dignity. If a man is not accorded respect he cannot respect himself and if he does not respect himself, he cannot demand it."

"The first principle of non-violent action is that of non-cooperation with everything humiliating."

"Do not romanticize the poor...We are all people, human beings subject to the same temptations and faults as all others. Our poverty damages our dignity."

"In the no-nonsense school of adversity, which we did not choose for ourselves, we are learning how to operate a labor union."

"A symbol is an important thing. That is why we chose an Aztec eagle. It gives pride...When people see it they know it means dignity."

"Nonviolence is really tough. You don't practice nonviolence at conferences; you practice it on picket-lines."

"Talk is cheap...It is the way we organize and use our lives everyday that tells what we believe in."

"Self dedication is a spiritual experience."

"It takes a lot of punishment to be able to do anything to change the social order."

"We are suffering. We have suffered. And we are not afraid to suffer in order to win our cause."

"When any person suffers for someone in greater need, that person is a human."

"When you sacrifice, you force others to sacrifice. It's an extremely powerful weapon."

"Our very lives are dependent, for sustenance, on the sweat and sacrifice of the campesinos. Children of farm workers should be as proud of their parents' professions as other children are of theirs."

"In 1968, I became a vegetarian after realizing that animals feel afraid, cold, hungry, and unhappy like we do.."

"There are many reasons for why a man does what de does. To be himself he must be able to give it all. If a leader cannot give it all he cannot expect his people to give anything."

"Just as Dr. King was a disciple of Gandhi and Christ, we must now be Dr. King's disciples. Dr. King challenged us to work for a greater humanity. I only hope that we are worthy of his challenge."

"I'm not going to ask for anything unless the workers want it. If they want it, they'll ask for it."

"The love for justice that is in us is not only the best part of our being but it is also the most true to our nature."

"Because we have suffered, and we are not afraid to suffer in order to survive, we are ready to give up everything - even our lives - in our struggle for justice."

"What I do shows people what kind of person I am."

"When you have people together who believe in something very strongly - whether it's religion or politics or unions - things happen."

"[We believe that unions have always been about much more than the industries in which they operate.] The fight is never about grapes or lettuce, ... It is always about people."

"There is enough love and good will in our movement to give energy to our struggle and still have plenty left over to break down and change the climate of hate and fear around us."