(np) It's Buy Union Week

[Michael Bailey]

you don't have to love the AFL-CIO...please consider looking for the
union label anyway...

you can still get most things union made, but it does require a
certain perseverance.  I consider it a spiritual exercise.

http://www.unionlabel.org/

 The AFL-CIO has declared the ten days following Thanksgiving
(November 25 through December 4, 2011) as “Buy Union Week.” The action
adopted by the AFL-CIO’s 25th Constitutional Convention also urges
affiliated unions to use “all available means” to promote the purchase
of union made gifts during the upcoming Holiday season.

Given the volatile state of the economy—marked by huge job losses,
declines in take-home pay and increased costs—it makes more sense than
ever to focus the purchasing power of union families on the goods and
services that those families create. Supporting union made products
helps keep good jobs in the community.

Consumer surveys indicate that Holiday spending will largely remain
flat this year and that most of us will pay cash rather than add to
our credit card debt. Still, the National Retail Foundation says that
Americans will spend on average $704.18 on Holiday gifts and seasonal
merchandise this year. All the more reason to specify
“union-made-in-the-USA” gifts for friends and family—we’ll be looking
for practical, quality gifts. Fads and gadgets won’t be big sellers
this year.

Here are some suggestions for your 2011 Holiday shopping:

   1. Visit www.unionlabel.org and click “Find Union Made Products and
Services” in the yellow box at the top of the page to find ideas to
start your shopping list.
   2. Demand union made products and services when you shop.
   3. When you find merchants who share your interest in union-made
products & services, let us know who they are (e-mail us at:
ulstd at unionlabel.org), and give them a copy of the “Thanks for Caring”
certificate that is part of this package. (pdf)
   4. When you wrap your presents, use the enclosed tag to let friends
and family know you shopped union.
   5. If you just can’t find a union source for the gifts you want to
give, why not just give cash, and ask the recipient to spend it on
union products or services.

Please contact us with your ideas for making “Buy Union Week” a big
national success.

In Solidarity,

Rich Kline
President, Union Label & Service Trades Department (AFL-CIO)