Memory in Cloth
Safety and Solidarity for New York City Garment Workers
Undated. Courtesy of Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation, Cornell University.
Shoppers could identify and buy garments made under safe and fair working conditions by looking for the union label. The labels were used in different industries starting in the late 19th century. These photos are from the Look for the Union Label campaign launched by the ILGWU in the 1950s. Skilled hands are at the heart of the garment industry, past and present. Here a garment worker sews in a union label.