Look for the Union Label 1978 ILGWU ad

Another of the classic "Look for the Union Label" commercials produced by the I.L.G.W.U. (International Ladies Garment Workers' Union), this one from 1978.

[@elcabi]

I was the tape operator on this commerical produced at Unitel back in '78.

[@chainsawmike01]

Don Sheldon were you a union worker?

[@robertperry814]

Wow, it must be nice to see something you worked on still remembered after 40 years.

[@fordhamdonnington2738]

.

[@amazingabby25]

Wow that’s so cool! My grandmother sang this to me lol

[@dawnhewitt-thegluten-freeg3100]

Amazing!

[@stacychiarello1274]

I used to sing this as a.kid..My Grandmothers were all members of the union. And had a pension from it. Without that pension... I don't think my grandparents would have been able to make it financially

[@Felineblood]

My Grammy too! I sure miss her. She worked in NYC sewed her entire life. What a great woman she was.

[@Bob-fj7lr]

I showed this to my mom yesterday and she knew all the words haha she was so happy she hadn't seen this in years

[@jrcasselman]

My Grandmother was also a member. She retired in 1970 with an ILWU pension.

[@MrScottie68]

Stacy, I actually had tears in my eyes when I played this today. As a teen back in the early 1980s, I went to get my aunt/godmother at her job to take her to lunch for her birthday. She worked in Manhattan at one of the ILGWU shops. Walking into the shop and seeing all the hard working women sitting at the sewing machines making clothing made me start singing this song and seconds later everyone in the shop was singing it too, so proud of their jobs and their work. I hope someday our country will open its eyes and realize manufacturing needs to return to the USA.

[@stacychiarello1274]

@@MrScottie68 Aww, Thank you for telling us this story. Heartwarming

[@ninamattei6085]

Our grandmother was a seamstress in NYC between 1915 and 1940. She was always so proud of being a union member and would sing out loud when this ad played on TV. She was no rabble rouser, but she was so glad to have contributed to bettering her family. She was a true American.

[@GayblazeJr]

which was the point of the ad - union members were not rabble rousers, just fellow Americans working hard to support their families.

[@asherdash12]

I used to love this commercial when I was little. It just popped into my head a few minutes ago

[@WakenerOne]

​@@GayblazeJrMOST were not. But SOME leaders in SOME unions were corrupt schemers and criminals whose actions managed to not only demonize THEIR unions, but to negatively impact what began as a sound and beneficial concept.

[@russellcountyonline]

and if you think about it, a good number of the population not only don't support, but would call her a "commie" or "socialist" ... it's ridiculous how brainwashed the american people were able to be

[@brockreynolds870]

MY grandmother worked at the Nelly Don dress factory in Nevada, Missouri from 1966-1971

[@tomtomtrent]

A couple years ago, when we were in college, I watched the infamous 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special with my sister and a few of her friends. We specifically chose a recording of the original broadcast, commercials and all, in order to get the full experience. When this came on, one of my sister’s friends started losing his shit laughing. I don’t think it was out of mockery, but more so that he was incredulous at how earnest and sincere this was. The idea of a bunch of middle-aged to older, mostly female, regular workers would come out and sing their own song about buying union-made products without a hint of a joke was so foreign to us. It’s interesting how much things have changed, but I have hope that organized labor will make a comeback in this country

[@OrigamiMarie]

Gosh I wish the history of unions were better taught in school. I guess it's been so long since the old tragedies that people don't have it in their family stories anymore. People in America, locked in the garment factories, air full of cloth fibers. One accident with an open flame, and whoosh! Dozens of workers dead. Also on American soil, women and children working long, hot hours for desperately little pay. And then going home to do the cooking and cleaning. Denied childhood, denied security and safety, denied lives, all for the sake of cheap clothing. It still happens now, just mostly in countries where it doesn't get into the news. The pride of being able to support your family by working a reasonable number of hours, of being able to give your kids a comfortable childhood, is worth singing about! To know that you'll be there for your grandkids, not chewed up by the factory before your time. And the pride of buying a garment that gives someone that respectable life, and clothing that'll last decades, that's worth singing about!

[@JAI_8]

It’s remarkable how “irony” as humor has made this earnest powerful ad about actual Americans working at factory jobs that paid to buy homes and cars seem like a joke now. It’s a shame how cynical we’ve all become; anyone who believes in something like these working women and men merits mockery in the new too-clever-by-half America. All it took was Reagan and the rich oligarchy to shut their factories … make a “deal with the devil” in the form of the Chinese Communist Party, and their profits soared from their new overseas factories, at the expense of working Americans. And of course the Chinese proletariat soon enriched themselves and grew into the healthy middle class that the USA had recently possessed. The owners of all these unionized factories sold out the American working class dream of rising to middle class wealth to the Chinese, just so they could break the unions and make more profit. That’s how “patriotic” the average rich American ruling class capitalist is, since the time of Reagan.

[@JAI_8]

@@OrigamiMarieUnions helped to prevent the tragedies you describe. That’s the point. The point isn’t to have tragedies to talk about. Unions and labor solidarity are to promote the notion that only through organizing laborers can we prevent the kind of exploitation at the hands of capitalist oligarchs in our country that you describe. We can never have too much organized labor. It’s the only power we have against the massive economic power of the wealthy. Democracy and organized labor.

[@68lincoln]

Unfortunately, there is no International Ladies Garment Workers Union anymore. In 1969, for example, the ILGWU had a membership of 450,000. It ended altogether in 2004 when the remaining ILGWU workers had to merge with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Union. And the total membership of BOTH these unions combined now is barely 200,000. Our USA garment jobs went to Mexico under President Clinton when he signed NAFTA and the rest of the jobs went to China when Bush signed with WTO. It's awful!

[@lilmisspettiieee]

Clinton started the trend but the bushes made it so much worse and now everything is still just as bad as before the agreements were supposed to be signed

[@alaskanprincess9386]

Tragic. But....betcha most of those ranting 'pro union' shop primarily at Walmart and buy goods, including food, not made in or from U.S. - most from CHINA.

[@dirtmover6190]

Bastards sold us out

[@kenetickups6146]

Course they did, corpos don't want to pay the working people

[@stoneyboyd]

That’s Globalization for you! It screws over Americans and those who profit off of it bankrolled both Clinton and Bush into signing those laws into effect.

[@quinoneswife]

My grandmother is in this commercial.

[@cherylnordblom8667]

My Grandmother was a Shop Steward in NJ for the ILGWU! All my clothes had a union label! That was 60 some years ago!

[@leroygonzalez5650]

My grandmother was in the ILGWU too!

[@lindabaron4584]

Awesome! 😀

[@willieverusethis]

Only jingle in history that gives me goosebumps.

[@schuylaars_sesh]

I want this to be our National Anthem. I fell in love with this song at 17, and have been a Proud Progressive, since!

[@sterlinggreg]

For all of you who are so anti union I have one phrase to say to you . TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FIRE. Google it and you will know why we needed and still need labor unions!! May god rest the souls of all those who died in this historic tragedy . Let it be remembered that their sacrifice has benefited all working Americans union and non union. It has been one hundred years but we still remember and honor you. RIP

[@brockreynolds870]

ADSOLUTELY!!! My uncle was the only survivor of the 1951 Orient #2 coal mine explosion in WEst Frankfort, Illinois. 120 men in a town of 3,000 were killed 3 days before Christmas.

[@KurtRex1453]

Imagine buying ready made clothes made in America today. As much as I hate to admit it... Ross Perot was right. Cheap imports only drove wages down and out of the country.

[@frankpeter6851]

Ross Perot was a libertarian schill

[@nekilof-2363]

@@frankpeter6851 Just because he was a libertarian shill doesn't mean he didn't have any good ideas/theories.

[@fordhamdonnington2738]

High prices produces inflation and a stagnant economy. It’s a no win

[@ndsmudlogger4061]

@@fordhamdonnington2738 economic stagnation isn’t bad for the regular people. It’s only bad for the investment class.

[@seanhartnett79]

@@fordhamdonnington2738 it is bad. But I want my Shirt to be able to buy an American made shirt

[@666Susie]

I moved to NYC in the early '80s, and remember seeing this ad many times on TV, and seeing the cleverly-worded signs plastered on the sides of buses. It is so sad to know that the once-vibrant union (whose beginnings started when a young girl, a factory-worker, had the guts to stand up at a meeting to say her piece. She showed the adults and everyone else in the meeting hall that night what courage really was!) is now just a memory! I haven't seen a union tag on any piece of clothing for ages.

[@kimmillersurvivingsisters]

Susie parker, I proudly sell Made in America merchandise with the Union Label, Surviving Sisters' Boutique in Hyde Park NY & we ship!

[@seanhartnett79]

@@kimmillersurvivingsisters link me. I will buy.

[@jonrossjan]

Postal uniforms and clothing are still proudly union made in the USA including the shoes such as New Balance.

[@nehemiahmarcus308]

Don't be conned by Trump. He does marketing by selling the sizzle not the steaks. The proof were those overpriced $900 Trump steaks. They came boxed with a couple steaks and mostly hamburgers. Even at $25, it was still a bad deal.

[@ninamattei6085]

The 110th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory is today and I know our grandmother worked in similar tough conditions.

[@Kinseydsp]

Loved this ad as a young man, in my 67 years of life I have now been downsized 2 times. Used to be long term workers were valuable now they push you out!

[@modshroom]

fuck those rich bourgeoisie idiots destroying everything about this country.

[@EnergeticWaves]

Kinseydsp well I saw it coming and saved. That’s the difference. There will never be a time when you can do well without money.

[@Notmyrealname69420]

Solidarite as someone who doesn’t remember a time when high school educated workers could afford a good life for a household. I Was born into privilege but will never stop fighting for the middle and lower classes who have been fucked by globalism

[@seanhartnett79]

@@Notmyrealname69420 me as well.

[@what5927]

Amazing. My father was a labor organizer for the ILG. What's happened to unions in this country is a tragedy. I'm sure he's rolling in his grave.

[@abbydabby9112]

idk, a lot of unions fuck us over. how about you pay your employees a decent wage and give them access to affordable healthcare??

[@MacJames4444]

@@abbydabby9112 I don't have employees. Most people don't. I have a boss who treats me like shit. Most people do. God bless unions ✊.

[@Cerridwyn]

@@abbydabby9112 back in these ladies' Day, it was awesome & being part of a union made them proud to be held up by their families. Now in your day...it's almost "why bother". But you have to take the word of a union worker; how it is for them to be in a union. Or even fight to be in a union when big company holds you down to not unionize.

[@Salem-yy5wn]

What! - My dad too

[@Salem-yy5wn]

@@abbydabby9112 ummmm… that’s why unions started - because corporations would kill you with low wages and crappy working conditions

[@P00katube]

This makes THE perfect WalMart intercom/Car Stereo prank!!!!!!

[@BeeG758]

I recently got a dress and I discovered it has a I.L.G.W.U. label on it. I decided to do some research into it and I found out about this jingle. It’s so cool! If anyone has any bits of information on the clothing made by this union, I would be more than interested to learn!

[@skartbrimpson3297]

South Park "Freak show 2002" episode is the main thing that brought me here.

[@tweektweek7093]

Me too

[@gorillamusicmarketing32]

Yep

[@psisis7423]

Look For The True Freak Label

[@la3615]

I’m watching it now and had to google where that part was from .

[@paulwarren3413]

That's how I 'member it. That...and The Star Wars Holiday Special.

[@nomadcowatbk]

make the ILGWU great again

[@Laudanum-gq3bl]

I don’t think it exists anymore. ☹️

[@nigelseaton8367]

Another part of my childhood that disappeared. I remember this commercial in the late 70's I think, any way I was always drawing people in clothes, and my cousin said you are going to be a designer. I didn't know what that was, I was 11, years old, but that commercial sparked something in a little child, who eventually wound up working in the NYC garment industry. Memories

[@Notmyrealname69420]

It is so sad that this union has disappeared even before everyone in gen z was born. It’s interesting that you see mostly blacks singing this song today because we usually think about middle class whites losing their factory jobs and turning to heroin but it was the whole working class. No matter what race working people need to unite against the corporations who are stealing livelihoods from working families

[@js-pb2kf]

Seriously. The corporations have done their job making the media hammer the phrase white working class when it was really just the whole damned working class. Race counts and class counts. It is used to count against the weaker folks.

[@marycornetti1440]

Bought a great dress at a thrift shop a couple of hours ago. It has the ILGWU label right there in the neck, made of Marcus Brothers textile (still in business on Ave. of the Americas, NYC) and I thought of this excellent TV ad from way back. I will proudly wear this vintage frock and remember the millions who raised their families sewing dresses and blouses and gowns, along with millions dying in sweatshops a la Bangladesh.

[@kimmillersurvivingsisters]

Mary Cornetti, you can find Made in America Merchandise with Union Label in my shop Surviving Sisters' Boutique in Hyde Park NY & we ship internationally!

[@dghuggs]

Fifty years ago these workers could support a household. Can worker's wages at Wally World do the same today? Nope! Is America better off now? Nope!

[@johnbranson3298]

When you into a thrift store today, you will find beatifically crafted clothes made by these Union workers 50 years ago. Walmart made in China clothes dissolve after 5 washings. Signed, A Libertarian who doesn't like unions, but damn they made clothes to last back then.

[@dogguy8603]

Then dont work at Walmart

[@seanhartnett79]

@@johnbranson3298 true. But libertarianism is an even more broken system.

[@7MonarC]

The Nanny season 2 made me look this up.

[@BoRhap77]

Me, too! I just paused S2 Ep11 to look up the song. I remembered the tune, but I had forgotten the lyrics.

[@thomassodomizer764]

It's funny to laugh at this camp commercial but nothing funny about how the working man has taken it right up the ass in the last forty years. Healthcare bankrupting millions , Kids can't go to college without graduating with a mortgage of debt, people working harder and harder and falling behind faster and faster. The joke is on all of us.

[@Michael-gu8ck]

I agree with your comment-it is sooo funny to laugh at this commercial, but also to smile with respect for these workers. The working man would be better served if there were fewer illegals and those with working visa, though. The working class is exploited in this country by political and special interest forces. I did not say eliminate all working visa, just tighten it up, a lot and also reduce H1-N1 visas.

[@marcellisrobinson]

What do you mean by 'camp'? There's nothing effeminate or homosexual here, just a plea to consumers to do the right thing, and buy union. This is a song of solidarity that those in the labor movement used to sing in the 30's or 40's or 50's

[@dogguy8603]

@@marcellisrobinson then they should have made adjustments to compeat with Chinese prices, consumers logically look for the best deal

[@dogguy8603]

Then dont go to college there are countless trade jobs that need filling, many of which are union jobs

[@shericet]

So true

[@JustM2024]

Amazing I remember all the lyrics.

[@kimmillersurvivingsisters]

Exactly Este De Tringham! We love vintage clothing & hunt for Union Label clothing Made in America for my shop, Surviving Sisters' Boutique!

[@tramekn]

This brings back great memories from my childhood. I loved this song and I didn’t know why. I’m 48 years old and I know why now.

[@TllGrrl]

My mom was a a seamstress and was in the ILGWU. "...it says 'we're able to make it in the U.S.A." robatsea2009, thanks for posting this.

[@boblewin7099]

Al Gore's mother & my mother used to sing this to us as a lullabywhen we were babies in 1946. Beautiful song!

[@leslietamayo8794]

I wish they'd run that commercial nowadays but probably it'd be too politicized. Paralyzed by politics, how sad. Love the ad though. You go girls!

[@74455776]

This moves me, not just because I hadn't seen it in about 40 years, but because my parents provided well for me and my brothers due to my dad's living wages over 5 decades with the Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union, which allowed my mom to stay home (her choice- no attack on women who must or want to work outside the home) and raise us- and yes, keep us from burning down the neighborhood. Seriously though, those conditions afforded by that union wage are a big reason why I am who I am today.

[@gutezen]

Clothing was much better quality then. People on the street looked well dressed, not like slobs!

[@haricotsvert]

just found my used skirt had this label and had to look it up, this is awesomeee

[@xoxo3896]

How come I was born in the Netherlands in 1996 but I somehow know this song/melody. It’s a beautiful song

[@jungefrau]

These ladies remind me of my mom - the 'done' hair, the big glasses, and of course the polyester pants suits! Love ya, mom!

[@averycasualsimmer]

This was my favorite commercial back in the day!

[@robertmyuna6328]

My favorite commercial too.

[@auntieeva4098]

One of the ladies in this commercial went to the church I grew up in.

[@southenglish1]

Blame it on labour, the labour which built the product, the labour which added value to assembled products or services. Blame it on labour; who only wanted a fair wage, a living wage, a middle class wage, so they could own a home and send their children to University. Why isn't management blamed for shipping well paying jobs to China and India? Why isn't management blamed for the shrinking middle class?

[@leroygonzalez5650]

Blame it on labour lmao naive bastard

[@MrScottie68]

Management is only partially to blame. The American consumers are also at fault. They want everything at the cheapest prices and instead of buying union label which cost a couple dollars more, they reached for cheap imports to save a buck.

[@blumobean]

I will bet you are a Democrat. That is not a compliment BTW.

[@southenglish1]

@@blumobean Thank you snowflake. I'm not bothered by your meally mouse insult. I will wear as a badge of honour.

[@JeffDeWitt]

You do realize that most management types are middle class too don't you? People look for value for their hard earned dollars, and by and large union made goods can't compete for a variety of reasons. Yes, union workers tend to earn more than their non union counterparts (well, at least before union dues), but that adds to the cost of the finished product. So do union rules that increase the cost of production. I live in North Carolina and have seen the textile industry pretty much shut down... but funny thing is the reason we had the textile industry here to begin with is because the textile plants moved down here from the northeast because labor is cheaper. So now they've gone overseas for much the same reasons. It's sad, but it's economics, and they don't call economics the "dismal science" for nothing. Those jobs are gone and they aren't coming back. But there IS niche market for quality, American made clothing like this. raleighdenimworkshop.com/

[@trixiekatz883]

You want diversity, people? This was the real thing, right here. We never knew what we had.

[@michaeldavidson8971]

This was the America that I knew and loved, what happened?

[@cindymichel4870]

I still sing this song sometimes. It's so sad that almost nothing is made in America these days😢😢😢

[@captspaulding100]

i always think of SNL's "dope growers union" when i hear this song.

[@chgosatrap]

OMG. I do remember those commercials encouraging us to buy union products!

[@gregorynelson3056]

My great grandmother worked for the International Lady Garment Workers Union Local 40. she retired after working 70 years. I still have the hat we wore marching down the Avenue of the Americas.

[@Nathan-jq2xh]

I have no nostalgic connection to this ad at all, but MAN that last part at 0:46 slaps HARD, it’s such an effective tune.

[@thomaschristopher8593]

my mom was a member in the 60's and 70's, and then the jobs petered out. so for me, it brings a tear to my eye. LOL.

[@KB-qg8wd]

I have always loved this ad.

[@ericmilstein682]

Thought the commercial was funny when I was a kid, but growing up in a union household in a union neighborhood, I GOT it! Solidarity!

[@jkrycz]

Today the idea that if in general low income workers still earn a living wage then they can buy more goods (and possibly educate their children) which in turn means there's more demand (and more skilled labour) and so more people are ultimately employed, this isn't even seen as like "too left wing" or something, it's seen as too complex to be comprehensible. Like this charming and accurate song is more complicated than the public-facing content in this year's campaign.

[@EnergeticWaves]

jkrycz actually the idea that workers make enough to not need welfare is Republican. Welfare is democrat.

[@yellowdogdemocrat1402]

@@EnergeticWaves I hope you've learned more since you left this comment.

[@seanhartnett79]

True.

[@kenetickups6146]

@@EnergeticWaves just keep drinking the coolaid

[@ibwilliamsi]

And they made an excellent garment that still wears well.

[@MrScottie68]

How right you are. I still have one of my late father’s cardigan sweaters that bears the union label inside and it still wears well and never once did a button fall off.

[@moonmuffin]

This ad was made before my time, but it's still so cool to see. It's a reminder of how impactful unions can be. America needs organized labor now more than ever.

[@ImCarolB]

Why did I start to cry during this commercial? Maybe it's a nostalgic trip back to my younger years and maybe it's because so many of our jobs are sent overseas now.

[@cpm395]

I remember the commercial. Back in the 70s there were a lot of garment factories in Queens along the 7 train line. I had my 1st job in that area.

[@farodyoung]

Wow great memories as a child ♥️

[@kittyscratchesboo]

My favorite version. It came to me in my dream. My goodness, I wonder what it meant to hear this song as I was awakening tonight. A charming and meaning jingle. At least they pressed on and didn't form these evil little divisions amongst themselves as they are doing today. I respect this formality even as a child who once understood this ad. ...so many years ago and now I am 45 and I can still hear this in the middle of the night out of no where and find myself HERE to listen to the entire jingle. Thank you so much for uploading the tot days...

[@666Susie]

I just referenced this ad on FB, after seeing the devastation from the factory explosion overseas, with its great loss of life. The factory (surprise! surprise!) made clothes for Wal-Mart. This ad, I'll never forget because of it's "catchy tune" and how well-made it is. I used to see it all the time when living in NYC, in addition to ads/signs put on the sides of buses, with an eye-catching phrase that a model referenced her "union suit", while wearing a union-made suit. So sad now. Very sad.

[@Esotericava]

Exactly this. Sam Walton had great pride in the fact that he bought American made as much as possible. And union labels were prevelant on many of their items. This ended with his passing - and those who inherited the fortunes focused less on giving back to the USA (and their workers and communities) and more on making a bigger and bigger profit - regardless of its impact on the same people who made it possible.

[@HCShannon]

Actually it started in the early 20th century to protest for better working conditions after the Triangle Shirt Fire, which killed many workers in a textile factory who were mostly poor and/or recently immigrated young women and there were no fire exits in the building

[@Salem-yy5wn]

I used to laugh at this when I was a kid in the 70’s - now it literally makes me cry. My dad was right 🥺

[@apteryx01]

Same here! In the 1970s, I had no appreciation of how important unions are, what a struggle it was to get them established, and how much good they did to protect the well-being of so many people-not just themselves but the whole economy around them. Now I get it.

[@malinibai1133]

It's funny - but it's not funny at all. Back in 1978, only a threat. Now a bitter reality that helped greedy companies destroy the U.S. working class. The Garment Center once supported many thousands of people in NYC, now it is all gone. Now we are all paying the price for the outsourcing.

[@papaciiito]

I am from Pa. and my friends are in thgis commercial...was a great union in its day,

[@kiethblack3870]

It's amazing to SEE this old commercial on KZbin! Where else, right? I remember this because both my sisters would sing it now & then as if it were a pop song from the radio! But I understand & sympathize also with the economy disasters & reformations beyond recognition since the 1970s.

[@jsawoski]

It was on the radio as "Look for the Silver Lining." Written in 1918 (Jerome Kern, Buddy DeSylva) kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHKTY6NsnLiiqs0

[@deborahmagana5039]

Thanks for raising me to adulthood.

[@schuylaars_sesh]

I grew up with this and it taught me more than anyone in my life ever would signed GenX TeeVee Kid; now you know what happened when you left me alone Mom and Dad-I became my own person.

[@kimirv2005]

Really...I remember this from a little kid...cool

[@dinosore4782]

I cry everytime

[@RepairDamage2U]

FYI, wild turkey1960: Jimmy Carter was president from 1977 to 1981. In 1958, the ILGWU and the New York dress manufacturer's signed a contract to agree to place Union Labels in the garments that were made in the USA. This labeling effort ran from 1959 through 1975. In 1975, an advertising copywriter (Paula Green), revitalized the sentiment of buying American with an ad campaign that focused on the song Look for the Union Label. Carter didn't take office until 1977.

[@jonahfalcon1970]

Kevin Murphy: "I can get so many chicks with this ruse!" (The Star Wars Holiday Special rifftrax :D)

[@thomaschristopher8593]

my mother was a member in the 60's and 70's

[@Lineon64]

I remember that. Such fun!!

[@TheGravitonVon]

I grew up in Fall River, Massachusetts. It was known as the Spindle city, I recall our downtown ILGWU and it seemed almost all I knew Female as well as Male worked in a Garment making Factory.

[@68lincoln]

WOW that's cool! The lead vocalist lady has a really nice voice. This is a touching commercial. Reminds us of the days when ILGWU made more than 60 percent of clothing in the USA. The ILGWU had 450,000 members in 1969 then dropped to 390,000 in 1975 and less and less as US garment jobs went to Mexico and China, etc. ILGWU doesn't even exist anymore. The few thousand remaining members merged with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Union in 2004. Sad days for the USA.

[@donnie9508]

The lead vocalist is, I believe, Pat Regalis of Tamaqua, Pa.

[@gideondingle9363]

I remember this commercial.

[@Tonia682]

Growing up in Jersey I remember this commercial. Still know all the words 🙄

[@JPVillalobos27]

My grandfather was an ILGWU organizer back when downtown LA had child labor and sweatshops. He’s in a couple of LA times articles, one of those times when he was shot at by a shop owner. Back then the garment workers in LA were mainly Mexican and Jewish women from Boyle Heights. They were going against some very politically powerful gold rush era LA families. Eventually the Jewish mafia had to get involved on behalf of the workers. My grandfather used to fraternize with Mickey Cohen and Bugsy Siegel. But they handled things in a different manner than what happened with the Teamsters back east lol. They used their connections in city hall and the judiciary. All that work was for naught after Reagan, Bush and NAFTA. Now we’re all wearing clothes and shoes probably sewn together by some kid in Indonesia making a dollar a day.

[@anthrocoon]

This was spoofed on Sat. Night Live with an ad for the Marijuana Growers' Union. "So look for the union label, when you are buying a joint, lid, or pound."

[@steelers3814]

Now I understand what South Park was parodying in the episode "Freak Strike"

[@MbM-xz9zf]

this really hits hard..

[@sharikraft1706]

I remember these commercials. The lady singing and then all the other people surrounding her.

[@infiniheart]

super sad. :(

[@modernradio]

And then came Reagan....

[@michaelgarcia2024]

Ronald Wilson Reagan and his number was 6 6 6

[@westcoasthockeybias37]

And then came Bill Clinton to sign NAFTA. Don't kid yourself. Both parties were to blame. The Dems used to stick up for unions before they figured out Hispanics and immgrants vote Democrat. Between an open border undercutting wages and trade deals encouraging businesses to use slave labor overseas, the Lady's Garment Union never had a chance. Go watch the NAFTA Debate on KZbin between Al Gore and Ross Perot.

[@javiercs006]

@@westcoasthockeybias37 Then they screwed the Hispanics when they found that the Chinese and the Bangladeshis could work for even less money (that the Hispanics decided to also try and go union didn't help.)

[@westcoasthockeybias37]

@@javiercs006 It didn't help because there were no tariffs to equal the playing field.

[@rockyracoon3233]

@@westcoasthockeybias37 True.

[@Cam-SB]

“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 ILG we’re making our way, So always look for the union label, it says we’re able to make it in the U.S.A.

[@elysehfm8797]

😇🥰

[@davidchereneimmel8820]

Aaa the good old days . Remember that commercial well.

[@inspiredlifechurchharrisbu3860]

I remember this commercial as a kid.

[@rochelleb973]

This made me tear up

[@AlexMartinez-me2yc]

I don't know why but, this song was on my mind today. LoL

[@68lincoln]

THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS IMPORTANT VIDEO. HARD WORKING AMERICANS HAD JOBS THAT PAID A GOOD WAGE AND BENEFITS AND AS THE MAN IN THE VIDEO SAYS - AND WE ARE ABLE TO BUY OTHER PRODUCTS MADE BY OTHER AMERICANS. SINCE 1994, NAFTA, CAFTA AND THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION HAS ALLOWED OUR JOBS TO BE SENT TO CHEAP LABOR FOREIGN COUNTRIES. AND THAT IS A DAMN SHAME.

[@WWL66]

Heard this song practically daily while watching cartoons. I never quite understood why it played but during cartoons. I was too little to understand what a Union was... I guess hoping parents were listening?

[@Sygmus6]

I always start tearing up when it gets to the chord at 0:47

[@natalie-nicolenelson4812]

"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 ILG we’re making our way, So always look for the union label, it says we’re able to make it in the USA!"

[@kevinoconnor1912]

Apparently while these union workers were filming these commercials in the 70’s they had WILD SWING Parties after?? Hey it was the 70’s😜😜😛

[@imaginativelads]

@samnmman I've never belonged to a union, never had the opportunity to join, but I support them, and wish they'd try to make a come back. The poll numbers show that more and more people are disenchanted with their wages, and support union workers. I think it's time to start running these ads with the same song, but different lyrics to represent a national labor movement. THIS IS THE TIME! We'll never have a better chance.

[@Musicradio77Network]

Taken from the "Star Wars Holiday Special" along with original commercials included.

[@senormedia]

I teared up a bit.

[@donttakemyname4302]

I just wanted to see where South Park got the inspiration for the "True Freak Label".

[@dieppat]

Don't Take My Name The interesting thing is, they knew of this commercial from an old bootleg copy of the Star Wars Holiday Special which had the ads intact from airing on TV.

[@ncjuppiter9595]

This is so bittersweet. Not only is this union now extinct, but the entire American middle class is as well.

[@timothydoyle7026]

STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL.

[@RepairDamage2U]

FYI: Jimmy Carter was president from 1977 to 1981. In 1958, the ILGWU and the New York dress manufacturer's signed a contract to agree to place Union Labels in the garments that were made in the USA. This labeling effort ran from 1959 through 1975. In 1975, an advertising copywriter (Paula Green), revitalized the sentiment of buying American with an ad campaign that focused on the song Look for the Union Label. Carter didn't take office until 1977.

[@LadyOfMaine]

THANK GOD I'M UNION!!!

[@modshroom]

they are coming for your union and living wage next. around bourgeoisie, never relax.

[@PaulGreen11]

@68lincoln You are Absolutely correct, but remember one thing... Americans Did buy those foriegn products, we didnt have to. We as the "American People" cant separated ourselves from the government.

[@nolankurtz1007]

South Park brought me here.. they nailed it lmfao

[@searching4quiet]

So sad...a staple in American culture. The end of an era.

[@modshroom]

the era of the liveable wage. rip

[@dogguy8603]

@@modshroom you csn find a livable wage you just have to work for it, learn a trade

[@modshroom]

@@dogguy8603 tell that to people working in sweatshops or living in poverty or whatever. not everyone was born in your nice little rich town to upper middle class parents during an economic heyday asshat

[@chadcallis8866]

I oddly remember seeing this commercial while watching Mary Hartman and fernwood 2night. Anyone else remember?