Look for the Union Label 1981 classic ad

one of the classic television commercials from the early 1980s featuring members of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union

[@carpesixties258]

I used to laugh at this when I was a teen but now it makes me cry. “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.” 🥺

[@ethan19942012]

I'm a bit confused as to why you'd cry over a union commercial. Yeah, unions are great, and it sucks they aren't so common. But, what am I missing? Did you have a parent or grandparent in this commercial that is gone now? I'm not trying to be a dick, I just genuinely want to know why someone would cry while watching a video of a bunch of women singing an annoying song about looking for clothing that has the union label on it.

[@bulkvanderhuge9006]

@@ethan19942012 Because where we are now, notice these Union commercials ended in 1981, A year after Reagan got in office, and proceeded to implement Trickle Down, which started the whole Income Inequality, and he also busted Unions, which is why today we're calling getting a Union in an Amazon Warehouse "Historical" because the 1% and Corporations have had a death grip on the US since Ronnie Boy changed everything in their favor.

[@ethan19942012]

@@bulkvanderhuge9006 hey. I worked for Amazon for a time. I am ecstatic that the Staten Island Fulfillment Center is getting a union (which scares me, because Amazon is going to do everything they can, legal or illegal, to stop this). I just don’t get why you’d cry over a commercial with a bunch of women singing about unions…

[@bulkvanderhuge9006]

@@ethan19942012 I'm not crying over the commercial OP is. When that commercial was on TV I was 18 years old at the time, so, that would be why I would cry over it now, being 59 years old now.

[@ethan19942012]

@@bulkvanderhuge9006 so, you’re crying over nostalgia? Haha

[@regulator58]

Never have a more "regular" group of people appeared in commercials than in the old ILGWU ads. Classic.

[@ii.cc.]

this is real, effective diversity at its finest. we need support for labor at all levels

[@stacychiarello1274]

Honestly, this makes me cry, because my grandmother's all belonged to the union. Without that pension, my grandparents would never have been able to make it financially without it. She probably retired in the early 70s

[@Salem-yy5wn]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@fh1119]

My grandmother was a seamstress in the union too 60s thru 80s.

[@freda2758]

Vote blue!

[@sushicourier]

Thanks to Reagan and his right-wing busting anti-union ways starting in 1981. Beginning with firing all the UNION air traffic controllers and continuing today. Thank goodness workers are again starting to organize themselves to fight back against unbridled corporate GREED and demand a living wage for themselves.

[@kenetickups6146]

@@freda2758 Vote third party

[@bbrief]

It's Christmas Day, and I'm missing my mom. She was a factory garment worker and a proud union member! God rest the souls of all those rough and ready women and men of her generation!

[@oklahomorose]

John Cage My mother worked as a nurse in a Burlington plant in Texas.

[@CowSaysMooMoo]

I'm sorry about your mom...but 'rough and ready" lets save that for people at war, ok???

[@MrJoseoz]

God bless you, thank u for sharing your thoughts about your mom and your thinking of her, my mom passed 2017 I think of her every day

[@CowSaysMooMoo]

@@frumpycrust "gatekeeping words?" "Free grunt"?? What planet do you hail from? This is the internet. I will express my opinion freely

[@abokwu]

god bless them

[@dollyqueen1979]

Makes me cry , I miss you every day .. that's my grandma in the brown with a chunky face ❤️. Forever proud of you and will never forget you carol r Fairbanks ..can't believe my grandma was in this commercial

[@TheKenny4444]

I proudly support UNIONS!!

[@ruthwezeman6700]

I’m here watching this because I have a coat from the 50s with the ILGWU label, and John Oliver just played some of this commercial on this week’s episode of Last Week Tonight

[@Kinseydsp]

The Good Old Days when things were well made in the uSA!

[@lindabaron4584]

You got that right! 👍🙂

[@scjohnk]

Unfortunately unions destroyed those companies and ran them into bankruptcy.

[@jesseprather8317]

@@scjohnk wrong corporate greed and sweatshops destroyed those companies

[@scjohnk]

@@jesseprather8317 lol.

[@mrswag2874]

Lyrics: Look for the union label, when you are buying that coat, dress or blouse. Remember somewhere are unions sewing, our wages going to feed the kids and run the house. We work hard but whose complaining? Thanks to the I.L.G. were paying our way! So always look for the union label, It says we're able to make it in the U.S.A.!

[@Kinseydsp]

Thanks for this old commercial I remember them well. After My Mom died I was looking through her Old Clothes and found a blouse with the Union Label on it! Those days people could get jobs. I myself was forced to retire at 67 and I have no idea how I am going to make it! Our country is slowly dying sadly! When I find something I need made in USA I buy it. Got some Weather Tech Mats made in USA last year for my car! They are wonderful!

[@Kinseydsp]

@@Jack_Russell_Brown I am still around Robert and I still try to Buy Made in USA things when I can find them. And since 1983 My Car tag is a custom Tag US-MADE. Thanks for you Email1 I am now 75 yrs old.

[@markstegeman4337]

Amen for all Unions in America we still need to stand by and protect are rights to work and not be decimated against

[@carpesixties258]

Absolutely!

[@McPierogiPazza]

​@@roqua Wanker

[@jtszabo1691]

Proud member of the Communication Workers of America

[@P00katube]

This would make THE perfect WalMart intercom/car stereo prank!!!!

[@rdsims8809]

Now, that was truly the First Rapp Song and first music video before MTV. Sing it, Children. Y'all should be getting good retirement pensions, now. And, for those whom have gone on to Garment Heaven, I know you're sewing White Robes , now Hallelujah, AMEN

[@susanlevy1563]

My grandpa, who worked in a dry cleaning plant, was a lifelong member of the other garment union, the Amalgamated Clothing.Workers; they represented peoplle who made men’s and boys’ clothes.

[@margaretgreen-cs2gy]

🎶THANK YOU🎶 My Mother Lillian Green LIGWU. They were the BEST!!! May GOD BLESS THEM ALL🪡🧵🧵🪡 and GOD BLESS 🇺🇲 AMERICA 🇺🇲

[@fh1119]

Brings back so many memories. My grandmother was a seamstress from the '60s thru the 80s and everytime this song came on the TV when i was growing up during that time period I'd say "there's grandma's song!"). It's a damn shame that we lost so many jobs so many people (made in America) now that everything is made overseas.

[@eddiecam101]

wow this brings tears to my eyes..this was a frequent commercial, that came on WOR..Radio..NYC

[@robertperry814]

40 years later and the American worker is still struggling.

[@McPierogiPazza]

Sadly, it's much worse. The full time jobs with benefits that provided for a family got turned into part time, minimum wage jobs with no health insurance and no sick leave. Union representation is way down too, which is no coincidence. Countries like Canada and Germany that have stronger economies than in the US have much higher union representation. What really gets me is how many union members vote against workers by voting Republican. So the older ones collect the pension the union secured for them while voting to ensure that younger workers struggle.

[@vipermad358]

This was on TV when I was a kid in the 70s. My mom always cried when she heard it. We need to get back to this, comrades!

[@QueenOnlyMe]

For those of you bitching about unions, give us back your minimum wage, your vacations, your breaks, 40-hour work weeks, and all those other things you think are your "right" as workers. All the above came from the hard work of union workers who, at times, risked their families and very lives to make sure we all were treated as humans and not "disposable capital" (as some HRs call us). If the idiots in DC get their way, you'll sadly find out just what we were protecting for you.

[@gIueeater]

Bro has never been to a painter’s union (like buildings)

[@lynnpayne9519]

The need for fair wages and a decent standard of living did not stop after the 1980's . Several generations of American workers have struggled and suffered, unable to meet our basic needs. Solidarity forever ! What we do every day means something too. So why can't we get health care and food on our table after a hard day's work?

[@Starius2]

I TRIED TO "LOOK FOR THE UNION LABEL"! BUT THERE ARE NONE TO BE FOUND! I instead got a "made in china/Bangladesh/Taiwan/etc."

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Found one at a Salvation Army thrift shop.

[@Starius2]

Christopher Sobieniak HOLY SHIT! SELL THAT SHIT ON EBAY!

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Starius2 I didn't buy it.

[@Starius2]

Christopher Sobieniak WTF!

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Starius2 I don't usually buy stuff I don't need in thrift stores.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

"I was just going to say, these garments are now made in Bangladesh. They have worked in sweatshops there for almost 2 decades, and they have finally had it. Dangerous conditions? Yeah, try being locked in a building, fearing that it will collapse in on you." The price we had to pay for giving up unions like these in favor of a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

[@Bogframe]

+Christopher Sobieniak The ILGWU was formed largely because of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in NYC on March 25, 1911. People buying clothing made in foreign countries should remember that.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Bogframe i hope.

[@salmonjanet]

@@Bogframe Damn...im impressed...people on KZbin know what they are talking about! 🙌🙌 I was going to comment about the Triangle ShirtWaist Co but you beat me there!

[@Salem-yy5wn]

@@Bogframe I had no idea- thanks for the info!

[@McPierogiPazza]

When I lived in New York, I'd stop by the former Triangle Shirtwaist building to remember those women. We still have their counterparts in the US too. They pick our produce, and they get treated like dirt for having to work here illegally when many of our families came here before there was an immigration/work papers setup. They just showed up and looked for work through fellow immigrants. There were big exceptions like with the Chinese Exclusion Act, but most Europeans had no barriers to living and working here

[@1motorpsycho]

My mom used to work with a textile manufacturer in Philly (not sure if she was union). I used to hang out when I was sick and out of school at about age 6. Some of my favorite moments hanging out with those hard working women/men. Then Reagan came along and took care of that.

[@slothbros7607]

and yet some people think Reagan was a great guy? I never saw that.

[@Kinseydsp]

God Bless these Ladies I found an Old Blouse of My Mother with the Union Label still on it looks great.

[@ritaz2008]

I came here because of The Nanny! Lol The 90s sitcom. She said her cousing sings the "or blouse" verse. 😂 "Hum hum hum *or blouse* "!!!

[@aylmerho6577]

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

[@17070robert]

I dedicate this to mt 2 Aunts who both had forty years in Ladies Garmet Workers Union

[@kichukmenon]

This song is so good that you barely pause to wonder how many of them are dead now.

[@TnseWlms]

I remember around 1980 when Osh Kosh replaced "Union Made" with "Genuine Article" on their labels.

[@OsagieGuobadia]

My History teacher from college remembers this commercial, back as a kid in the 1970s. : )

[@hdaline69]

I remember these ads from my youth. They remind me of the SNL parody, "look for the union label when you are buying coke, hash, or pot"

[@auxmike]

I never see the union label anymore!

[@petey8887]

@dbonacum And remember, you wouldn't have fair pay or a five day work week or safe conditions in the workplace without unions. It's all about balance of power. Neither the unions nor the companies should have too much. Similarly, neither the successes nor the failures of industry can be placed upon either one. Industry works best when bosses and workers work together.

[@Musicradio77Network]

This is an updated version of this ad which was featured on the "Star Wars Holiday Special", this was from 1981, three years after this ad first appeared.

[@BigDogCountry]

Star Wars holiday special. That was a steaming pile of crap.

[@sixbrigands]

Solidarity forever.

[@jorgefigueroa4437]

On NYCTA buses, I remember some Union Label ads, the women on a Piano, 4 women like Phone call, and the most popular that I love it, the babies on red, and a baby girl holds the Union Label.

[@TabithaElkins]

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.

[@BroWCarey]

I love this song, and this is a good performance of it.

[@TS6815]

Growing up, when my family would be packed in the car and stuck in construction traffic, my dad would lean out the window at the eleven guys watching the twelfth dig and sing 'lOoK fOr ThE uNiOn LaBeL'

[@McPierogiPazza]

Ah, one of those guys. That's unfortunate

[@cynthiapickett7403]

Love the general, "Middle American" look everyone has from those last days of the period before MTV changed it all.

[@modshroom]

the proletariat have nothing to lose but their chains

[@sharonmcmenamin8790]

Ray-gun destroyed all of this, damn.

[@SkuldChan42]

I have a shirt with a union label, but it's a shirt I got at a union rally.

[@roseannemariadagostino3469]

When I see this, I think of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. In 1980 Women without a college degree could still support their families, because the women who died in 1911 already began to fight.

[@abbieprice3430]

This song was sung on an episode of Boy Meets World!

[@kevinmurdoch4184]

Boy meets world brought me here. 😆😁 When cory and shawn walkout of turner's class.

[@023achilles]

I was just going to say, these garments are now made in Bangladesh. They have worked in sweatshops there for almost 2 decades, and they have finally had it. Dangerous conditions? Yeah, try being locked in a building, fearing that it will collapse in on you.

[@elizacooke8180]

Now I understand the Nanny joke "orblouse"

[@EbonyLuve]

This is a keeper. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. Willie certainly made the most of his 15 seconds of fame. He looked pretty good back then....

[@cristinapena1672]

0:40 Yes, i'm here because of John Oliver and the

[@lednew2010]

Madonna should sing this song at the SuperBowl in Indiana, where they're trying to strip union rights right now. Can someone get a Twitter or Facebook campaign going to her on this?

[@DisabilityFraudKJW]

Can this be translated into Mandarin?

[@mynamehappy]

Oh God, easily the best comment on this video. Lol 😂

[@lauratharby6521]

We need to bring the ILGWU back to the US

[@rochelleb973]

I loved his jingle as a kid

[@havingfun1968]

I loved this commercial.

[@samanson7463]

Where did All the unions go? My Dad was a proud Union man!

[@paisleybabee]

Expect to see these labels return again in the near future! Build back better!

[@5dancingisraelis535]

Hows that shit working out for you two years later? Is it built back better, yet?

[@barnesfam]

My U.S History teacher showed us this video in class today.

[@wchomes106]

this makes me cry

[@Naminski1a]

South Park brought me here. Thanks, Comedy Central.

[@jameswillett7186]

This same commercial was posted by someone else on youtube. They said it was 1978.

[@007sephiroth1]

@petey8887 very well said my friend. that is precisely correct. economically optimal performance is made when workers and bosses are content with the quality and quantity of goods and services produced and sold well.

[@tsnovak20]

Today, they would do some awkward tiktok dance

[@mrzoperxplex]

How much things have changed. Now this union (along with the entire apparel industry in the United States) is practically dead.

[@havingfun1968]

mrzoperxplex I think actually IT IS DEAD.

[@dayzanu9993]

My dad's factory was one of them. Both mom & dad were union workers before starting their own business. Bad US trade deals killed it. Just couldn't compete and pay union wages.

[@mrswag2874]

Lyrics: Look for the union label When you're are buying that coat dress or blouse.

[@TnseWlms]

My grandfather managed a clothing factory. He was ahead of his time at recognizing his workers as humans, and even married one of them. He gave them very generous benefits and bonuses, but hated unions.

[@McPierogiPazza]

That's how unions affect industries. They raise the standard for pay, benefits and working conditions for union and non-union shops. It's no coincidence that union memberships and the American middle class have dropped at the same time.

[@wavealip8059]

I remember as a kid these were kind of a laughing stock. Now the American working class has become the laughing stock.

[@loverosesbabyv]

I would like to see you try to support a family on minimum wage. I'm a single mother and it is damn hard to support a family on it.

[@JoshSelley]

Has anyone noticed the last woman clapped on beat until she stood up?

[@jorgefigueroa4437]

The bus ads in New York of the Union Label campaign are popular, more than 5 versions launch and one very rare in spanish used on Bronx and Manhattan routes, also in Puerto Rico made a variation of this ad in 2008 to products made in Puerto Rico, "Busque el Sello, invierte en ti", in english means "Look the Label, invest on you"

[@danielrodriguezrodriguez415]

Here thanks to a reference to this song in John Scalzi's book (Starter Villain) 😂 🐬 🐬🐬🐬🐬

[@RaptorFromWeegee]

They changed the song! Souled it up a bit, like a gospel choir. LOL, too much to little too late

[@djs2356]

Time (over 40 years later) has proven them right.

[@lelabotoxique]

WKRP in Cincinnati, season 4, episode 3.

[@tylersharp1377]

First time I heard this jingle was on Boy meets world! 😁😭😂

[@xonstage]

Ah, the good ol' days...

[@ceasarandrepont5331]

This is when the United States was America. Foreign trade is what fuck up of the country.

[@jrcasselman]

I have heard mixed reviews about the ILGWU. My grandmother was a member and I heard she did not get much of a pension from them. One activist also told me the head of the ILGWU was also a member of the Trilateral Commission.

[@anotherjoshua]

it says we're able to make it in the U.S.A!

[@PJChgo1]

Sad that we lost this battle....the appeal of a cheap, foreign made $7 shirt at Old Navy or Walmart was just too strong for most Americans to pass up, no matter how often they might have thought about the union label or those hard working Americans.

[@quartizejackson4732]

My uncle Bill in this😂😂😂😂😂

[@ryanmikes5644]

This song has great rhyme

[@turbotime1964]

Unfortunately, there are no unions in China, so it's hard to look for the label these days.

[@thelasttaarakian]

true, and even harder still there's no USA in China either...

[@Freefalldreams]

I came here because I read about this song in an old library book of about the same vintage as this ad. Of course, what did I expect in the comments before I'd even turned on the computer? Exactly the sort of stuff that is in the comments. The ad wasn't very amusing, but the comments are, so thanks a lot.

[@portlyncruise4260]

YES!!!!

[@imaginativelads]

LET'S GET BUSY AND BRING BACK THE UNIONS! WE HAVE A BIGGER OPPORTUNITY THAN EVER BEFORE! Stand for something people! Stand up before the corporations take the whole thing! We can do this, but not if you sit on your asses, and become apathetic. Have you had enough?

[@visaman]

Now there is no union label anymore

[@cardcreekdesign]

@GARN3240 - You should google the Lattimer Mine Massacre and find out what Unions are actually for.

[@eddyvideostar]

At 0:01 seconds, at the start: This person looks like Paul Mc Cartney.

[@potatoegirl31]

I kinda throught she looked like Angela Lansbury! 😂 (fans of a certain former late night talk show host will get this)

[@macoafi]

@notdonebefore minimum wage? You're forgetting, there'd BE no minimum wage without unions!

[@luispardo4091]

awesome

[@mrwhoiamorwhatever]

u should see the south park version

[@wheelygood9]

@smcentee6922 I see, you blame the organised workers who fought exploitation for the decline of manufacturing industry in the US. It is in fact the company/business owners who have found workers overseas (or more commonly, over the border in Mexico) to exploit, workers that are not unionised and subject to harsh and brutal treatment by domestic and foreign bosses. It is honest of you to declare that you are against the American worker and would rather side with the exploiter than the exploited.

[@Michael1966W]

Al Gore's mom use to have him sit on her lap and she sung this as s lullaby. He was a wee 27 years old

[@paddedpencil]

this video is amazing!

[@MrScottie68]

And today in 2022, it’s “look for the China label it says we’re no longer able to make anything in the USA”. We’re paying top dollar for non union made Chinese clothing that falls apart in no time flat….it’s disgraceful and sad.

[@robertl30]

Like if John Scalzi's Starter Villain brought you here.

[@keithleeuwen877]

Great !

[@fhb3]

0:39 Oh, John Oliver...