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.

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  Entertainment

[elcabi]

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

[burbank]

This is so sad. Today virtually all of our clothing garments are made overseas and distributed to Target, WalMart, and Marshalls. The clothes are low quality, poor style, and not that cheap. I have an Old USA MADE Ocean Pacific Polo Short from the 80s which still fits me today and has kept its color. Each time I buy pants made overseas, they tear in a matter of months.

[mary jeffress]

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.

[gutezen]

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

[Susie parker]

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.

[Susie parker]

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.

[Kurt Cooper]

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.

[Laura Mann]

I grew up with the unions always sticking up for the working man.now when unions are destroyed america is destroyed,woody Guthrie stood up for unions and peoples rights,We will fight this fight again and again!

[PhantomLyric]

We have to also be mindful that our population has almost trippled since these commercials were made. Technological advancements have been helpful in creating more jobs but as our population increases and the costs of innovation increases with it, there is no give so the poverty level also rises and so does the need for really cheap merchandise. If I had to pay $8 an hour plus benefits to a woman who, in an hours work, would make the same someone overseas would make in a day, do the math.

[68lincoln]

Thanks to corrupt politics, gangster lobbyists and corporate greed the ILGWU doesn't even exist anymore. These garment jobs were sent to Mexico, South America, China, Vietnam etc. where they pay workers ten cents an hour to make the clothing and sneakers that most Americans wear today. And I doubt that the garment and shoe industries will ever return to the USA. Cheap Asian made clothing is what Americans buy now (and that includes clothes sold everywhere from WalMart to J. Crew). Sad!!

[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.

[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!