Need gift ideas?

SHOP UNION!

All hope is not lost to buy union-made gifts. Below are a few ideas. But if you’ve got kids on your gift list, you may want to start with a lead test kit to help check for lead in Chinese toys. United Steelworkers is selling lead test kits for a penny each, plus $2.97 to ship. The kits contain two lead check swabs, a test verification sheet, reporting forms, manufacturer’s directions, information on recent recalls and a tip sheet about what you can do to help stop toxic imports. Buy online at steelworkersmerchandise.com or by calling 1-888 SAY-USWA.

Books, calendars, and cards at Portland-based Powells Books, one of the few union bookstores in the United States, where workers belong to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 5.
Candies at See’s Candies, manufactured at two California locations by members the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers.
Tickets to the Oregon Symphony or Oregon Ballet Theater, where the musicians are members of American Federation of Musicians Local 99.
An Alaskan cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line, which has union crews made up of U.S. citizens.
Outdoor knives and multipurpose tools by Tigard-based Gerber Legendary Blades, where some workers belong to the Machinists Union.
Boots by Portland-based Danner Boot, represented by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555.
Tillamook cheese, made by workers represented by the Teamsters and Operating Engineers Local 701. Buy it at Albertsons, Safeway, or Fred Meyer, where many stores employ members of UFCW Local 555.
Men’s shirts by New Orleans-based Kenneth Gordon, where workers belong to UNITE HERE; available online at www.kennethgordon.com.

Lastly, be sure to mail your gifts via the all-union U.S. Postal Service or UPS — not anti-union FedEx, which is defending itself in multi-state lawsuits over its classification of drivers as “independent contractors.”

*This article was written by the NW Labor Press Website. http://www.nwlaborpress.org/index.html

A complete list of "BUY UNION" products as well as the "DO NOT PATRONIZE" list is posted in the District Council / Labor Community section under the main menu on the ILWU 40 website.