Look for the Union Label
Hi all,
Thank you for joining me for this Sunday Special commentary.
This might be a trip down memory lane for some of my readers. Comments and questions are welcome. Please be respectful of others’ opinions if they should differ from yours.
For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below.
The Song
(336 words)
Today’s song is Look for the Union Label, lyrics by Paula Green, music by Malcolm Dodds.
Unions began in the U.S. In the 1800s.* In 1869, Unions started stamping or labeling the products they made. The reason they did this was they thought that customers would support employers who had white workers. At the time, there was discrimination against Chinese immigrants who were not members of the unions. Products such as cigars, lumber, garments and shoes had the stamps or labels in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
In New York, many of the people working in the factories were immigrants themselves. The Women’s Trade Union League and other women-led groups, wanted to improve working conditions in factories. In New York City, thousands of women garment workers went on strike.
In the 1950s, garment companies started closing factories and moving them to states that didn’t allow unions or to other countries where labor was cheaper. In 1959, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) started its own “Union Label” campaign to support union workers in the U.S. They put advertising in women’s magazines that asked shoppers to buy goods with union labels. They told them to “Look for the union label.”
In the 1970s, the economy wasn’t good, more companies were moving to other countries, and production in the garment industry fell. The ILGWU decided to create advertising on TV. They recorded a commercial with people talking about the union and encouraging the public to buy union-made goods. It became a very popular song and an anthem for the labor movement.
Listen to the song a few times and you, too, will be singing this catchy jingle!
Look for the union label
when you are buying that coat, dress or blouse.
Remember somewhere our union’s sewing,
our wages going to feed the kids, and run the house.
We work hard, but who’s complaining?
Thanks to the I.L.G. we’re paying our way!
So always look for the union label,
it says we’re able to make it in the U.S.A.!
VOCABULARY
discrimination 差別
immigrants 移民
lumber 木材
garments 衣料品
encourage 奨励する
anthem 頌歌
sewing 縫う
paying our way 自分の必要を満たすためにお金を払う
NOTES
* For more information on unions in the U.S., see: https://www.louisehaynes.com/history/history.html
• Look for the Union Label was written by Paula Green with music by Malcolm Dodds ©1975, UNITE [Union of Needltrades, Industrial and Textile Employees] (formerly International Ladies' Garment Workers’ Union and other unions)
• Union Label photo: "ILGWU parade float bearing the union label, December 7, 1960" by Kheel Center, Cornell University Library is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
SOURCE
NYHistory.org. “Look for the union label”: A history of the ILGWU’s iconic jingle. https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/look-for-the-union-label Accessed 9 Aug 2023.
@MMERIKANI , thanks for the restack. You know, every time I write one of these, I have the music going around in my head for days. This is another one!