Look for the Union Label

Women from the ILGWU Upper South Department waving from among decorated cars with placards. International Ladies Garment Workers Union Photographs (1885-1985) The Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives in the ILR School at Cornell University

The ILGWU, once one of the largest labor unions in the United States, had primarily female membership. When this photo was taken (1950s) most of what was available to wear in the U.S. was made in the U.S., from the raw materials to the textile, design and finished product. Union tags on items let you know that fairly paid garment workers made the items.

Although not every union-made garment still has or ever had the label, I always search for a union labels in vintage clothing, and always photograph them. They make me happy. They also clue us in on the era of their construction. I have yet to find a shoddily sewn garment with a union label—I don’t think anything poorly made would pass muster.

A manufacturer and the Union Price Committee examine garments to estimate the work involved as a basis for piece rates. International Ladies Garment Workers Union Photographs (1885-1985) The Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives in the ILR School at Cornell University

The labor movement achieved the abolition of child labor, the establishment of the eight-hour workday, the introduction of weekends, the creation of Medicare, and enhancements to workplace safety. These advancements have benefitted all employees, even those without union representation.

What else is there to love about the garment unions? They had basketball teams, bowling leagues, choruses, advanced education classes and ESL classes. They raised money to help those in need. They were remarkably integrated. Their families understood what garment manufacturing meant and didn’t want to see a lesser product. Women had major power in garment unions, and could picket for better conditions and better pay.

ILGWU Local 22 plays ILGWU Local 91, November 6, 1937. International Ladies Garment Workers Union Photographs (1885-1985) The Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives in the ILR School at Cornell University

Up until the 1960s, a couple of unions—the Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union and the International Ladies Garment Workers Union—were the primary representatives of the country's garment workers. Due to their successful organizing efforts, these unions helped transition workers from exploitative sweatshop conditions to stable middle-class livelihoods.

Consumers were encouraged to actively seek out clothing with union labels, assuring them that their purchases were made in humane working environments by employees who had a genuine say in their work conditions. At that time, it was entirely feasible to outfit oneself with a wardrobe composed solely of union-made apparel for men, women, and children as most clothing available in American stores was manufactured locally by union members.

However, this is no longer the case. In the 1970s, prominent U.S. clothing manufacturers relocated production to non-union factories in the South, and by the 1980s, they had transferred operations to sweatshops in Asia, Mexico and Central America. Presently, the majority of garments sold in American retail outlets—including major retailers such as Walmart, Target and Nordstrom—are produced overseas, where laborers often face dire working conditions and limited rights.

Public Domain

Until more clothing is once again made ethically (I have hope, with a new wave of caring consumers), vintage clothing with union labels will remain a symbol of what was—and could be again.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: The horror of the tragedy casts a shadow even to this day

This Labor Day, I feel the imperative to revisit a seminal disaster in our nation’s history, The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.

The specter of Death rises with the smoke and flames of the burning building as people jump and fall to their death, editorial cartoon from 1911.

On Saturday, March 25, 1911, near quitting time, a fire broke out on the 8th floor of New York City’s Triangle Waist Company and quickly spread to the 9th and 10th floors. Within minutes, 146 of the 500 employees had died in the blaze. The seamstresses—mostly young women who had recently immigrated to the U.S.—were trapped, locked inside by the management. Numerous safety violations made their rescue impossible. The women who didn’t burn alive jumped to their deaths, to the horror of the crowd on the street.

Louis Waldman, a New York Socialite, was sitting reading in the nearby Astor library.

I was deeply engrossed in my book when I became aware of fire engines racing past the building. I ran out to see what was happening … When we arrived at the scene, the police had thrown up a cordon around the area. Horrified and helpless, the crowds—I among them—looked up at the burning building, saw girl after girl appear at the reddened windows, pause for a terrified moment, and then leap to the pavement below, to land as mangled, bloody pulp. Occasionally a girl who had hesitated too long was licked by pursuing flames and, screaming with clothing and hair ablaze, plunged like a living torch to the street.

Detail, History of the Needlecraft Industry (1938), by Ernest Fiene, High School of Fashion and Industry. The mural was commissioned by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU).

Striking garment workers in 1909. Of those who died in the Triangle fire, dozens were teenagers as young as 14, and there was even an 11-year old.

The workers were subjected to dangerous and inhumane factory conditions but it wasn’t for lack of fighting for better. In 1909, 20,000 garment workers in New York City walked off the job, and the strike lasted 14 months. They made some progress with smaller manufacturers but a big factory like the Triangle Company could afford to hold out longer than the workers.

{Must see: Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives at Cornell University’s Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Website}

On April 5, 1911, just over a week after the fire, union organizers and workers held a funeral march down New York City’s Fifth Avenue. Reports vary, but it’s estimated between 80,000-120,000 people marched for over six hours, with 300,000-400,000 people observing.

Workers protest after the fire, April 5, 1911.

Following the tragedy, public sentiment strongly favored increased safety standards and humane working conditions, and workers flocked to strengthening unions, most prominently the ILGWU. Progress was made, much due to that terrible March day.

We must learn from our own history and consider the workers who make our clothes. We in the wealthier countries are often purchasers of greatly undervalued clothing from countries such as Bangladesh, China and Vietnam and we need to realize that there is a risk in a cheap + plentiful equation. To reduce this risk we can demand fewer items for our own closets, purchase secondhand and vintage clothing instead of newly made, and demand clothing be made by decently paid workers in safe work places—even if it costs us more.

Slow fashion trumps fast fashion for many reasons. It is not just good thinking, it is a moral imperative. denisebrain graphic.

Select references:

Juravich, Nick .“Look for the Union Label: A History of the ILGWU’s Iconic Jingle.” New York Historical Society, April 24, 2019, https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/look-for-the-union-label

“The Tragic Story of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911.” 5 Minute History, https://fiveminutehistory.com/the-tragic-story-of-the-triangle-shirtwaist-factory-fire-of-1911/

“International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union.” https://labormovement.blogs.brynmawr.edu/1915/03/26/international-ladies-garment-workers-union/

“Clara Lemlich and the Uprising of the 20,000.” American Experience, PBS.org https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography-clara-lemlich/

Hickey, Andrea. “The Tragedy Of The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Was A Landmark For Workers' Rights.” Buzzfeed, Jun 2, 2018, https://www.buzzfeed.com/agh/triangle-shirtwaist-factory-fire-workers-rights-history

It’s Labor Day—Have you looked for the Union Label?

ILGWU parade float bearing the union label, December 7, 1960. Photographer unknown, via The Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives.

There was a time not so long ago when many U.S. citizens, the majority women, earned a decent living making clothing. This was in great part aided by the strength of the ILGWU (International Ladies Garment Worker Union). Everyone who was around in 1970s America knows the jingle:

Look for the union label
When you are buying a 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.

There’s no reason to stop looking for the union label when you purchase vintage fashion. Today through Wednesday, save 20% on all items with union labels in the denisebrain Etsy shop, no coupon code needed. And let me tell you, these are well-made fashions!

Look for the Union Label

Thanks to legions of union garment workers, we once had a thriving clothing industry in the United States, now mostly off-shored. In the 1950s for instance, most of what was available to wear in the U.S. was made in the U.S., from the raw materials to the textiles, designs and finally to the finished products. Union tags will let you know that fairly-paid garment workers (primarily women) made the items.

By comparison: Green America’s Retailer Scorecard gives Wal-Mart an F, J.C. Penney a D-, and Target a D+ for their use of sweatshops and forced child labor. In choosing a vintage article you not only recycle it for current use, but you can be fairly confident that it was made with better values in its day.

The delivery may be outdated in this 1978 ad, but the message sounds right on now:



Look for the union label

When you are buying a 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.

You can still look for those union labels in vintage clothing.

Just a few of the choices at denisebrain this week (click any photo for more on the item):

Don’t forget the benefit of a union label in narrowing down the date of your vintage item. Visit the Vintage Fashion Guild’s ILGWU page for the scoop on a number of union labels and their dates. 

It's Labor Day—have you looked for the union label?

Thanks to legions of union garment workers, we had a thriving clothing industry in the United States, now essentially off-shored.

The delivery may be out of style in this 1980 ad, but the message still sounds right:

Look for the union label

When you are buying a 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.

You can still look for the union label, in vintage clothing.

Just a few of the choices with ILGWU (International Ladies Garment Workers Union) labels at denisebrain this week (click any photo for more on the item):

Another benefit of a union label is its help in dating items. Please visit the Vintage Fashion Guild’s

ILGWU page

for the scoop on a number of union labels and their dates. 

“Symbol of decency, fair labor standards, the American way of life”

ILGWU parade float bearing the union label, December 7, 1960. Photographer unknown, via The Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives.