The Union Label and Service Trades Department, AFL–CIO was founded on April 12, 1909, to promote the products and services produced in America by trade union members—especially those products and services identified by a union label, shop card, store card, and/or service button. The department is a constitutionally mandated department of the AFL–CIO.
The department's offices are located at the AFL–CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C. The department has many state and local councils and committees, and works closely with AFL–CIO state and local labor bodies to carry out its functions.
Activities The ULS&TD primary function is to promote the union label. These emblems demonstrate that the employees who make the product or provide the service are union workers and that they are treated fairly by their employers.
The ULS&TD also coordinates national boycotts that have been endorsed by the AFL–CIO executive council. The department maintains and publishes the "Do Not Buy" list of companies being boycotted, along with the products and services involved. The "Label Letter" publication is the most visible means the department uses to publicize boycott updates. The "Label Letter" features special interest stories, alerts, a "Do Buy" section, and other relevant information. Member unions of the AFL–CIO and their local affiliates often reproduce sections and articles of the newsletter to spread the "union label message" to union members and their families.
Leadership Presidents 1909: John Brown Lennon 1911: John F. Tobin 1916: John W. Hays 1926: George William Perkins 1934: Matthew Woll 1956: John J. Mara 1960: Richard F. Walsh 1975: Joseph D. Keenan 1980: John E. Mara 1982: James E. Hatfield 1997: Charles Mercer 2008: Richard Kline
Secretary-Treasurers 1909: Thomas F. Tracy 1917: John J. Manning 1932: George W. Perkins 1933: John J. Manning 1934: Ira M. Ornbum 1950: Raymond F. Leheney 1957: Joseph Lewis 1971: Edward P. Murphy 1976: Earl D. McDavid 1982: John E. Mara 1988: Sidney Heller 1989: Richard J. Perry 1994: Charles E. Mercer 1997: Dennis L. Kivikko 2003: Matthew C. Bates 2000s: James H. Dunn
References
Sources Foner, Philip S. History of the Labor Movement in the United States. Vol. 3: The Policies and Practices of the American Federation of Labor, 1900–1909. New York: International Publishers, 1964. Maurice F. Neufeld. "Structure and Government of the AFL–CIO." Industrial and Labor Relations Review. 9:3 (April 1956). Union Industries Show features American-made goods. nwlaborpress.org. Retrieved 2024-11-29. External links Union Label Dept. website "Union Label and Service Trades Department, Secretary-Treasurer's records" at the University of Maryland Libraries