Though we tend to associate it with barbecues and retail sales, Labor Day is a holiday honoring the American labor movement. And an easy way to celebrate the movement that brought us the minimum wage, an 8-hour workday and an end to child labor is by buying Sam Adams, Doritos, and other union-made nosh for Monday’s get-togethers.
All the products listed below are made by unionized workers . You can find a more comprehensive list over at the website Labor 411.
Chips & Dip
Tostitos Chips, Salsas, and Dips
Mission Chips, Salsas, and Dips
Doritos
Cheetos
Fritos
Rold Gold Pretzels
Meat & Buns
Ball Park franks
Hebrew National franks
Oscar Meyer & Boar’s Head hot dogs
Sara Lee buns
Oroweat buns
Condiments
Heinz Ketchup
French’s Mustard
Vlasic (Relish,
» Read more about: A Labor-Friendly Shopping List for Labor Day »
Cinco de Mayo is a day to lift up the Mexican culture and clink some margarita glasses in celebration. See our recipe below for that delicious cold cocktail as well as a union-made enchilada that no one will be able to refuse. Viva la fiesta!
For one margarita:
1-1/2 oz. Herradura tequila
1-1/2 oz. Montezuma triple sec
1 to 1-1/4 oz. of lime juice
Salt (Morton or Diamond Crystal) for the rim of the glass
Shake all the ingredients with cracked ice in a cocktail shaker until the exterior frosts. Strain into a glass over rocks, or “up” into a cocktail glass.
Union Enchiladas
(Makes 6 servings)
1 cup Manischewitz chicken stock, or water
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (Foster Farms, Tyson), cut into strips
1 jar (12 oz.) Pace salsa
1 cup shredded cheddar (Horizon or Alta Dena)
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack (Horizon or Alta Dena)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 can (16 oz.) Old El Paso red enchilada sauce
1 can (16 oz.) Old El Paso green enchilada sauce
Durkee cayenne pepper (optional)
12 Mission soft corn tortillas (six inches across)
Heat oven to 425 degrees.
(Labor 411, the group dedicated to promoting products and services that carry the union label, offers a couple of spooky recipes for Halloween treats that are reposted below.)
According to a recent survey, more Americans than ever will be getting in the Halloween spirit this year. Halloween has now become one of the fastest growing and most widely loved holidays in America. We here at Labor 411 love Halloween because it’s all about the candy — and so much of it is union made! You can get a complete list of union-made candy by clicking here.
Sometimes buying union candy can be confusing, mostly to do with what we call “bridge companies,” which can make some of their products both in the U.S. and out of the country. So if a company is listed in our directory but you’ve heard they make candy out of the country,
We couldn’t resist. The Fourth of July is the biggest and baddest of all barbecue bonanzas, and so we decided the Union Cookout needed a sequel for Labor Day. Labor 411 is here with our follow-up to last year’s grill special that includes some of the best union-made picnic and party goods around.
(Reposted from Labor 411.)
Cherri Senders wasn’t always looking for the union label. Back in the late 1980s the Washington, D.C. native was writing for the L.A. Weekly, an alternative newspaper that was generous with editorial pleas for social justice but miserly when paying its own workers.
“I saw how exploited writers were,” Senders tells Frying Pan News. “We joined the National Writers Union and were able to go from five cents a word to seven. That’s how I found out about the labor movement.”
About 15 years later a friend of Senders, who by then had started her own communications company, wanted to learn how to purchase union-made baby products, but couldn’t find a way to track down which ones bore a union label.
There had always been Buy Union lists – often out of date and pinned to the bulletin boards of union halls or, more recently,
» Read more about: Looking for the Union Label in All the Right Places »
Labor 411’s Test Kitchen is just in time for the holidays! We’re sharing a recipe for Homemade Eggnog, which is THE traditional holiday beverage. We’ve got a recipe to make it using all union-made ingredients – and you’ll find the union brands listed next to each item. This quintessential holiday beverage is perfect to share with your friends and family.
Be forewarned: This recipe contains a little bit of alcohol. Do not consume alcohol if you are underage.
Eggnog Ingredients
6 eggs (separated) – Alta Dena, Horizon
3/4 cup sugar – Domino Sugar, Sugar in the Raw
1 pint heavy cream – Alta Dena, Horizon
1-1/2 (1.5) quarts milk – Alta Dena, Horizon
(or 1 quart milk + 2 cups whiskey) – we suggest Knob Creek
½ cup rum – Bacardi
Directions
Beat egg whites until fluffy,
Here’s an arresting little statistic: Americans could create 200,000 jobs if we spent $64 out of the $700 that we will average for gifts this holiday season on American-made products. This fact comes from our friends at Labor 411, the group that puts together lists of union-made goods and services – everything from apparel to pet food to board games. And, just so you don’t think you’d have to stock up on $64 worth of Crayola Crayons to help create those 200,000 jobs, Labor 411 has put together a holiday shopping list that highlights a range of items, produced with union labor, including:
Check the list above for a complete inventory!
» Read more about: Buy Union-Made Gifts This Holiday Season »
As you prepare to head to the grocery store to pick up your Thanksgiving dinner ingredients, double-check your shopping list to make sure your Turkey Day fixin’s are all union-made in America. Check out some highlights from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor’s resource site, Labor 411. Here are some of the best union-made Thanksgiving eats and tools from the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM), Machinists (IAM), United Steelworkers (USW) and United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).
Appetizers
Turkey
Cookware/Cutlery
Side Dishes
Bread
» Read more about: Labor 411's Union-Made Thanksgiving Shopping List »
