Preserving and Promoting Union Jobs and Union-Made Products and Services
WHEREAS, since its founding in 1909, the Union Label and Service Trades Department of the AFL-CIO has educated union members, their families and the general public about the importance of buying
products and services bearing the union label, advertised union-made products and services and worked to promote the union label through events such as the Union Industries Show and Union Label Week;
WHEREAS, union labels, shop cards, store cards and service buttons are hallmarks of high quality, and are the best indicator of jobs that pay well, provide good benefits and respect the right of workers to join a union;
WHEREAS, union and nonunion families alike “look for the union label” when they shop precisely because they want to support strong and solid job growth in the United States and purchase the best products and services in the world.
WHEREAS, national tax and trade policies have caused our trade deficit to surge to a record-setting level, leading to massive job loss in a wide range of sectors and the severe erosion of our manufacturing base; and
WHEREAS, due to these flawed trade policies, even products as sacred as the American flag are imported from countries that employ prison labor and child labor and deny workers their basic human rights.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the delegates to the 24th Biennial Convention of the AFL-CIO reaffirm their commitment to buy union-made products and services and to “look for the union label;” and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the AFL-CIO will:
- Support the Union Industries Show, Union Label Week and other events topromote the union label;
- Actively support all national boycotts endorsed by the Executive Council;
- Work to support affiliate campaigns to promote the union label and “buyunion” policies, and encourage affiliate participation in the Union Industries Show, Union Label Week and national boycotts;
- Oppose any legislation or policy change that would weaken the meaningof the “Made in the USA” label;
- Continue to work for sound trade and tax policies that preserve andstrengthen our national manufacturing base; and
- Work with local and state legislatures to ban the use of public procurementdollars to purchase imported American flags, and to call on the U.S. government to do the same; and
- Fight to maintain and expand Buy America provisions in our procurementlaws, and to reform international trade rules to protect such laws; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the AFL-CIO urges all of its affiliates and state and local labor federations to take the aforementioned actions.