Nicholas Klein


Nicholas Klein was an American labor union advocate, and attorney who is best known for his speech to the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America in 1918.

Biography

Klein lived in Cincinnati, and was a writer for the Hobo News. He was an attorney, and worked as an adviser for James Eads How.

Address to the Clothing Workers

Klein is best known for his speech to the Clothing Workers, where he said the following:
Klein's words are often summarized as "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win", and misattributed to Mahatma Gandhi and to Arthur Schopenhauer as "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident".