The Last Word

Look for the union label: AFL-CIO celebrates Labor Day with public awareness campaign

By Charles Mercer, AFL-CIO

Labor Day kicks off Union Label Week 2002, the time specifically set aside by the AFL-CIO to increase public awareness of the tremendous contributions that union families make to our economy and the nation.

Beyond the direct benefits that union families receive in wages, job safety, employment security, benefits and working conditions, the entire workforce enjoys a higher quality of life because of the positive influence of unions on the overall economy.

The need to educate the public about who we are and what we do is greater than ever as unions struggle to protect jobs, wages, working conditions and benefits in an economy dominated by global corporations whose only allegiance is to profit, at any cost.

We’ve got our work cut out for us because the media doesn’t really pay much attention to labor and its issues. That’s too bad, because we have a great story to tell. It’s going to be up to us to tell it.

Time and again, over the last year, we have proven that when America faces tough times, union families are the first to respond. Union families poured out their money and volunteered their time in response to Sept. 11. In the weeks that followed, our members and their children were among the first to step forward to serve their nation.

As many as one out of three of those killed in the terrorist attacks were from union families or were, themselves, union members. The bonds of solidarity that connect union workers were strengthened by that fact, but that wasn’t the only reason for the outpouring of generosity by union families. The bedrock of patriotism that is basic to labor’s philosophy motivated this natural, unselfish response. The principles of justice, freedom and equality — upon which our nation was founded — are also the guiding principles of organized labor.

At the economic level, America’s union families add value to the products and services that our labor creates, and that added value is symbolized by the union label and shop card. We add that value through our devotion to quality, through the additional training that many unions provide, and through the protections and principles that a union contract establishes.

Our message for Union Label Week 2002 and beyond is more relevant today than ever: Union-made products add value for America. Learn to look for and use “Union-Made in America” products and services.

Let’s make sure this message goes out to all corners of the nation for all to hear.

(Charles Mercer is president of the Union Label & Trade Services Department, AFL-CIO. For more on the department’s work, go to http://www.unionlabel.org.)