Spotlight the Label
“After the Civil War, American labor unions began using individual logos, both as a means of group identification, and as printed seals or labels affixed to union made products, to assure the consumer of the quality of the products manufactured in union shops. The label movement was also a non-violent means of garnering public support for the labor movement, by encouraging boycotts of products made by companies that did not support labor’s goals,” says Kim Munson, art historian.
Since late 2012 the Union Label Department has been featuring information on modern day union labels in our bimonthly newsletter, the Label Letter. As Ms. Munson explains in her research “the symbols and messages contained in these logos have changed due to union mergers, economic transformations, changes in the political climate, and cultural/societal trends in general.” Our goal is to educate the general population about the modern day labels they may see today.
Spotlight the Label: IUE-CWA
As the Industrial Division of the Communications Workers of America, International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine and Furniture Workers (IUE-CWA) represents 150,000 active and retired men and women united to collectively seek dignity on the job and...
Spotlight the Label: UFCW
UFCW members work in all 50 states and in Canada, and belong to more than 400 local unions. UFCW boasts a large percentage of younger workers, many of those under the age of 35, in both full- and part-time positions. While the history of the UFCW begins in 1979, the...
Spotlight the Label: CWA
CWA represents 700,000 workers in private and public sector employment in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico in 1,200 chartered CWA local unions. In 10,000 communities across the United States, CWA members work in telecommunications and information technology,...
Spotlight the Label: GMP
he Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics & Allied Workers (GMP) International Union is one of the oldest labor unions in America, with its origins dating back to 1842. Several mergers have since taken place and this growing union is now known as the GMP International...
Spotlight the Label: USW
The United Steelworkers is North America’s largest industrial union, with 1.2 million mem-bers and retirees in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. The Steelworkers first contract was signed in 1937 with Carnegie-Illinois Steel. Strikes, riots, and attacks on...
Spotlight the Label: AFSCME
Started in 1932, when a group of white collar professional state employees met in Madison, Wisconsin, and created the Wisconsin State Employees Union, AFSCME has grown into the nation’s largest and fastest growing public services employees union with more than 1.6...
Spotlight the Label: IBEW
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) represents more than 750,000 workers in the electrical industry in the United States, Canada, Panama and several Caribbean island nations; particularly electricians, or Inside Wiremen, in the construction...
Spotlight on the Label–AWIU
Spotlight the Label: AWIU formerly Asbestos Workers The International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers (AWIU or Insulators) is a trade unionin the United Statesand Canada. It is affiliated with the AFL–CIOand the Canadian Labour Congress....
Spotlight on the Label NATCA
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, is the exclusive representative of over 15,200 air traffic controllers within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Defense (DOD) and private sector. NATCA also...
Spotlight on the Label–ALPA
The Air Line Pilots Association, ALPA was formed in 1931 by a group of 24 “key men” in Chicago. David L. Behncke was the first president. The founding members adopted the motto “Schedule with Safety” and that theme remains central to the union’s work today. For more...
