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Unions show off May 16-18 in Detroit

Date Posted: May 2 2008

By Mark Gruenberg
PAI Staff Writer

Union members, their families and the general public are invited to attend what may be the final America-at-Work Union Industries Show, slated for the weekend of May 16-18 at Cobo Center.

Show hours that weekend are Friday, Saturday & Sunday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information go to www.2008america-at-work.com.

Since its inception in 1938, the Union Industries Show has been held in Detroit only twice: 1961 and in 1995. The 2008 show will spotlight the newest union-made products in the country, including automobiles, motorcycles, tools, work clothes, appliances, work boots, sporting equipment and building products. Admission is free.

"We're looking forward to working with the Michigan State AFL-CIO and the Detroit Central Labor Council to make this show a breakthrough for our exhibitors and the Department," said Union Label and Service Trades Department President Charles Mercer.

For the first time, the show will include the sale of union-made-in-the-USA products and services from the show floor. Show organizers are also encouraging local contractors to market union construction services, too, so several local building trades unions will have a presence at the show.

The 1995 show in Detroit featured products like Right Guard antiperspirant, Pennzoil Motor Oil, Rice Krispies and Vlasic Pickles. Numerous sample items were given away. Organizers estimated a record 300,000 people attended the show, a record at the time.

The site of the first union industries show was in Cincinnati in 1938. "The public does need to look for the Union Labels of the American Federation of Labor and its affiliated national and international unions, plainly imprinted upon thousands of products in various fields, proving that the particular articles were produced under ideal conditions by fairly paid workers who feel a just pride in their craftsmanship," declared AFL President William Green at the time.

The Executive Board of the Union Label & Service Trades Department has approved the selection of Detroit as the site for the 2008 America-at-Work Union Industries Show, along with significant changes in how the Show will work-including the sale of union-made-inthe USA products and services from the Show floor.

Arrangements are underway to showcase and sell automobiles, motorcycles, sporting goods, clothing, housewares, appliances, food stuff, glassware, computers, furniture-the entire gamut of goods typically on display. The Department will be encouraging local contractors to also market union services-from painting, roofing, electrical and brickwork, plumbing, and more.

Since 1938, the Union Industries Show has been held in Detroit only twice: 1961 and in 1995. The 2008 Show is expected to spotlight the newest products of the United Auto Workers (UAW) from its own back yard in Detroit's massive Cobo Hall-a 700,000 square foot convention and exhibition center in the city's downtown. Named for Alfred Cobo, Detroit's mayor through most of the 1950s, the center was built in 1960 and renovated in 1989. The last time the Show visited Detroit was in 1996. In the 12 years since, Cobo Hall management has instituted a number of improvements in how the facility operates. "In our negotiations with Cobo Hall management we discussed the concerns that exhibitors raised from the 1996 experience and we have been assured that those concerns have been resolved," said UL&STD President Charles Mercer. "We're looking forward to working with the Michigan State AFL-CIO and the Detroit Central Labor Council to make this Show a breakthrough for our exhibitors and the Department," he said.

With the U.S. economy still in the throes of the Great Depression, the 24 international unions and 58 exhibitors staffing 230 booths at 1938 Union-Industries Show in Cincinnati welcomed more than 178,000 visitors and gave away some $20,000 worth of prizes and premiums. The Show featured daily entertainment from actors, singers and musician, and a daily newspaper spotlighting Show events for the day

Cincinnati's Building Trades erected a complete home illustrating modern craft products and state-of-the-art plumbing, heating, flooring and roofing-described as a "splendid advertising media for various Union Label products used in construction and for the skilled craftsmanship of Union workers."

Visitors also saw a complete Post Office which issued a special stamp commemorating the event, along with displays by various service organizations, including the Red Cross and the Boy Scouts and Camp Fire Girls. Union clothing manufacturers displayed their wares during fashion shows alongside displays of union made work clothes and high fashion items.

A random look at some of extraordinary pictures from Union-Industries Show down through the years provides an interesting look at how the Show has changed; and how some aspects have remained the same. Show visitors were often entertained by many of the biggest stars from the entertainment world-including Bob Hope and Lana Turner, and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.

"The public does need to look for the Union Labels of the American Federation of Labor and its affiliated national and international unions, plainly imprinted upon thousands of products in various fields, proving that the particular articles were produced under ideal conditions by fairly paid workers who feel a just pride in their craftsmanship," declared AFL President William Green in announcing plans to hold the first Union Industries Show in Cincinnati on May 16th as a "momentous national educational campaign never before attempted."

Conceding that typically consumers "are only remotely conscious" of goods carrying a label, Green said "We propose to leave no stone unturned in delivering the union market to the worthy American manufacturers who employ members of unions affiliated with the American Federation of Labor."