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Labor omnia vincit inscribed on a floor tile showing the UBC Emblem^[1].

Labor omnia vincit is a common Latin phrase meaning "Hard work conquers all". The phrase appears in Virgil's Georgics, Book I, in the form Labor omnia uicit improbus ("uphill work overcomes all things"). The poem was written in support of Augustus Caesar's "Back to the land" policy, aimed at encouraging more Romans to become farmers.

Labor Movement

A frequent motto within the U.S labor movement, the phrase is a historically significant slogan. Used by the earliest U.S labor unions such as the American Federation of Labor and other pre-cursors to the modern AFL-CIO, the motto continues to be a traditional and defining statement of purpose on contemporary labor union emblems including the International Union of Operating Engineers and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. The motto also appears on the original 1925 flag of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the labor union of African-American Pullman Company porters founded by civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph.

The motto is used by the Geelong Trades Hall Council in Australia.

Cities, States, and Recreation

The phrase is also a frequent motto across many townships, cities, and states. Currently the state motto of the U.S. State of Oklahoma and incorporated into its U.S. state seal in 1907, the motto originally appeared on the territorial seal of Oklahoma Territory. In addition, it has been known to be the motto of the city of El Eulma, Algeria as shown on its coat of arms, of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, West Bromwich, England, and León, Guanajuato, Mexico.

It is a slogan of the football clubs Rasta IL in Norway and Luton Borough Youth in England.

Educational institutions

Across the world, many educational institutions have adopted the phrase as a motto, including:

Australia

• Liverpool Boys High School, NSW Australia
• Liverpool Girls High School, NSW Australia
• Bourke High School, Australia
• Captains Flat Public School, NSW Australia
• Glenunga International High School, Australia
• Maitland Grossmann High School, Australia
• Hampton Senior Highschool, Western Australia
• Paddington Public School, Sydney, Australia.
• Peterborough High School, Peterborough, SA - Australia
• Princes Street Primary School, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
• Roseville College, Sydney, Australia
• Sydney Girls High School, Australia

Canada

• Hamiota Collegiate Institute, Hamiota, MB
• Ashton College, Vancouver, BC
• Barrie Central Collegiate Institute, Barrie, Ontario
• Hants East Rural High School, Milford, NS
• Hartland High School, Hartland, New Brunswick
• Huntsville High School, Huntsville
• Newmarket High School, Newmarket, Ontario
• Paris District High School, Paris, Ontario
• Queen Elizabeth Junior and Senior High School (Calgary), Alberta
• St. Catherines Collegiate, Ontario
• Saugeen District Secondary School, Port Elgin, Ontario
• Rosemount High School, Montreal, Quebec
• W.L. Seaton Secondary School, Vernon, BC
• St. John's School, St. Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec

Chile

• Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera, Santiago, Chile

Caribbean and Central America

• Bishops' High School, Guyana
• St. Jago High School, Spanish Town, Jamaica
• Rusea's High School, Lucea, Jamaica
• The Convent High School, Roseau, Commonwealth of Dominica
• Zeta Mu Gamma Fraternity, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
• San Juan Senior Comprehensive, Trinidad
• Bahamas Baptist Community College, Nassau, Bahamas
• Merl Grove High School [St. Andrew, Jamaica]

Ecuador

• Academia Naval Illingworth, Guayaquil, Ecuador

Hong Kong

• Queen's College, Hong Kong

India

• Grant Medical College, Mumbai, India
• College of Engineering, Guindy, Chennai, India
• St. Joseph's Higher Secondary School, Cuddalore, India
• St. Jude's School, Amritsar, India
• St. Kabir Public School, Chandigarh, India
• St. Mary's Convent High School, Nainital, India
• St. Sebastian Goan High School, Mumbai, India
• Sydenham College, Mumbai, India
• Government Aizawl College, Aizawl, India
• Albany Hall Public School, Kolkata, India

Thailand

• Assumption College, Thailand
• Assumption University of Thailand, Thailand
• Saint Gabriel's College, Thailand,Thailand

United Kingdom

• Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, Altrincham, Greater Manchester
• Cheltenham College, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
• Elmfield College (1863-1932), Heworth, York
• Ilkeston Grammar School, Ilkeston, Derbyshire
• Midhurst Grammar School, Midhurst, West Sussex.
• Strathallan School, Forgandenny, Perthshire
• Strathaven Academy, Strathaven, Lanarkshire
• Kettlethorpe High School, Maths And Computing College, Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

United States

• Alpha Phi Tau Fraternity, Heidelberg College, Tiffin, Ohio
• Centenary College of Louisiana, Shreveport, Louisiana
• Fessenden School, West Newton, Massachusetts
• Columbia City High School, Columbia City, Indiana
• Peter Donahue Mechanics Monument, San Francisco, California
• Loudon High School, Loudon, Tennessee
• Mount Saint Joseph Academy, Brighton, Massachusetts
• The Potomac School, McLean, Virginia

Ghana (West Africa)

• St Augustine's College, Cape Coast, Ghana

Other

• Bhujoharry College (Boys), Port Louis, Mauritius
• Escuela Nº 1 Dalmacio Vélez Sarsfield, Concordia, Argentina
• Escuela Agricola Panamericana. El Zamorano, Zamorano, Honduras
• Queen's College, Hong Kong
• Sekolah Menengah Gajah Berang, Melaka, Malaysia
• St. Xavier's Institution, Penang, Malaysia
• Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tinggi Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
• Elite's Co-Ed School, Kathmandu, Nepal
• Outram Secondary School, Singapore
• "Nicolae Kretzulescu" Superior Economic School (College), Bucharest, Romania
• Universidad a distancia de Madrid,(UDIMA), Madrid, Spain
• Rusea's High School, Lucea Jamaica
• Instituto Mairiporã - Thomaz Cruz, Mairiporã, Brazil

References