“Wholesale Clothing Clerks Union Local 158, ACWA“

This banner is part of the exhibit We Love A Parade, Union Banners Then and Now, featuring four 19th century banners, and twenty seven banners from the garment industry in New York City in the twentieth century.

The American labor banner — a significant symbol of labor solidarity and strength — has been the communications method of choice for labor unions since its inception. The Wholesale Clothing Clerks Union Local 158 banner is made of blue material instead of the red found on most of the other clothing workers’ banners. This may echo a previous affiliation of the clerks’ local, or could indicate an effort to assert a distance from the left wing of the labor movement during the McCarthy era.

Visit the LaborArts exhibit We Love A Parade to see all the union banners currently on display