Echoes of a Lost Battle in the War Against Corporatism
They Fought the Corps, and the Corps Won
My spouse was looking at the label of a very old stuffed toy from her childhood. There it was, the ILGWU label. The song in the TV commercial from our childhood immediately sprang to our minds. “Look for the union label …”
Here is that commercial from 1978.
“. . . when you are buying a coat, dress, or blouse . . .” Oops, sorry, got carried away.
The commercial and superbly crafted jingle captured a simple foundational sentiment: buy garments made in the US to preserve American jobs.
The commercial was designed and paid for by the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union, the ILGWU. Their purpose with the commercial was to encourage people to buy American-made clothing instead of consuming cheap imports churned out in offshore sweat shops.
Clothes that were “Union Made” meant (and still mean) fair pay, fair treatment, and American jobs. Imported clothing meant (and still means) you had no idea who made your clothes or under what conditions, and it meant fewer jobs for US workers.
