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Union Logos
by Saul Schniderman
Unions, like other social justice organizations, use logos and other cultural symbols to express identity and solidarity. On the other side corporate capitalism likes to "brand" products or services in an attempt to beat the competition and increase market share. When Spain's soccer team competes against Portugal, the Spanish players wear uniforms with the Adidas symbol; the Portuguese team sport the Nike "swoosh."
How does the American labor movement make use of cultural symbols and logos to get its message across? Given that in the United States we are a minority movement -- and that only a small number of people actively participate in unions or have union experiences - do American workers relate to any symbol that they recognize as "theirs."
Elise Bryant, a labor educator and Director of the
Labor Heritage Foundation
teaches a class in which she asks the students to draw a symbol on the blackboard expressing "what is the union?" When union members and activists participate in the class they usually draw pictures of a heart, two hands grasping, the scales of justice, stick figures reaching for the stars, etc. When she gives the same exercise to young people who have never experienced unionism, her students draw dollar signs, picket signs, and fists that are fighting each other. Could it be that union folks and the other 90% of the country have different images of what a union is and what it means to be part of one?
In 1994 I participated in the Labor Culture Tour of Sweden, along with 15 artists and cultural workers. We were advised to bring buttons, bumper stickers, pins and t-shirts to give as gifts to our Swedish trade union hosts. I called my union - AFSCME - and the
Union Label and Trades Dept. of the AFL-CIO, and I packed my suitcase full of all sorts of union kicknacks.
Well, our Swedish hosts were very impressed with the American stickers, buttons, etc. "Your labor movement is so exciting," they told us, "with such colorful artifacts!" It turns out that in Sweden, where 90 percent of the working class is organized into unions, there are little if any of these items present in the society. When everyone is in a union, why print up a bumper sticker? It's a majority movement with only 10 percent of the workers unorganized, the opposite of the United States. In Sweden everyone, it seems, joins a union. Sweden is a nation of members - union, political party, youth organizations, study circles, etc.
The Swedes did have one cultural logo that I must tell you about. Our tour was sponsored by Sweden's blue-collar union confederation known as the LO. The symbol for the LO is a cat or a lynx - one that is found in the Swedish countryside. The name of this animal is pronounced, in Swedish, as "locat." And so the labor federation adopted the "LO Kat" as its mascot. In fact, our tour leader, Lars Petterson, called us, affectionately, the LO Kats from America. Now, the reader who is familiar with America's blue collar unions - UAW, IAM, Steelworkers, Teamsters, etc. - may have an image of the LO cat as being strong, stealth, or panther-like. Quite the opposite. The Swedish LO Kat is a smiling, friendly cat, more like our "Morris the Cat" in the old commercials. In fact, there is a childish quality to the feline symbol, which was present on the carrying bags they presented to us as gifts. The LO Kat is furry and fluffy and has a big smile ---- not at all like our images of rough and tumble industrial workers. When we visited the Swedish National Zoo, we saw that the LO had sponsored the lion and tiger exhibits (naturally). The walls were adorned with murals of LO Kats and baby Lo Kats, LO Kats on roller skates and LO Kats playing on playground equipment. Swedes who visit the zoo associate the cat exhibits with the LO KAT, the symbol of the union. The cat murals were very family-friendly; this was a unique and completely different artistic and cultural experience for the Americans on the tour. I asked our Swedish tour guide why the LO adopted this symbol and he told me that the union wanted to revitalize itself and its image. They wanted something that young people could relate to, something popular. The idea for the LO Kat originated with a woman who was on the national executive board of the organization. As we build our labor movement, let us not forget the power and influence of logos and cultural symbols. Bring back the old icons and create some new ones. We are an emblematic movement, and for good reason. (Saul Schniderman is the president of the Library of Congress Professional Guild, AFSCME Local 2910 and the editor of Fridays Labor Folklore.) | 
