Labor Day 2026
Solidarity Campaign
Hosted by the Labor 411 Foundation in partnership with Workers United and ARAMP — the Alliance for Responsible Apparel Manufacturing and Purchasing.
Together with labor leaders, garment workers, and union allies, we’re working to rebuild support for union-made apparel. There are still unionized garment workers, and many more who would love the opportunity to join a union, if we can support existing union factories with solidarity purchasing.
Union Made by Workers United Local 38 and IUPAT Local 246
Union Printed in Los Angeles
Sourced by Ethix Merch
Join the 1% Challenge.
Most union T-shirts
aren’t actually union made.
Last Labor Day in Detroit, I checked the labels on T-shirts worn by members of 20 different unions. I expected most of them would be union made.
I was wrong.
I found that 18 shirts (90%) were USA Made, but only 6 out of 20 (30%) were actually Union Made.
That surprised me, because as union members, many of us assume that “Made in USA” also means union made. Most of the time, it does not.
My name is Ian Robinson. I’m President of the Huron Valley Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, which brings together 40 local unions in four countries of southeast Michigan. I’m also President of the Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium, a national network that helps city and county governments align their apparel purchases with worker rights.
More than twenty years ago, I helped organize my own union local at the University of Michigan. Ever since, I’ve believed that when union-made options are available, the labor movement should support them.
But when it comes to apparel, that has become more and more difficult.
Most garment production left the United States decades ago. Dignity Apparel in Tennessee, represented by Workers United Local 38, stands as one of the last remaining union t-shirt factories in the country.
At the same time, millions of union members still purchase shirts every year for Labor Day events, organizing drives, conventions, steward trainings, strikes, and rallies.
What if the labor movement launched a coordinated effort to use its purchasing power to help rebuild union garment manufacturing, while ARAMP works to get other institutional purchasers that care about worker rights (cities and other governments with anti-sweatshop ordinances, religious organizations, progressive NGOs, etc) to use their purchases to do the same?
Union Printed ≠ Union Made*
*A shirt can be union printed without being made in a union factory. The SolidariTee campaign aims to help rebuild support for union-made apparel in the labor movement.
That’s the idea behind
the SolidariTee campaign.
We’re inviting unions across the country to commit to turning out at least 1% of their membership in union-made shirts for Labor Day 2026.
One percent.
If unions across the country meet that goal together, we could generate one of the largest coordinated union-made apparel actions in modern labor history.
Each participating organization commits to:
- ordering union-made SolidariTees produced by Dignity Apparel
- turning out at least 1% of their members at a Labor Day event or labor action in their area
Of course, many unions may choose to go beyond 1%.
My AFT-MI local has about 1,500 members. One percent would mean just 15 people. I’m hoping we can commit to significantly more than that.
The shirts will be:
- 100% union made in Tennessee and Iowa, using union made fabric.
- union printed in Los Angeles
- available with optional local union customization
The SolidariTee campaign is part of a broader effort by ARAMP to re-empower workers in the apparel industry.
Factories where workers know their rights, have a voice on the job, and can organize unions without fear, should not be struggling to survive.
They should be growing.
The SolidariTee campaign is a meaningful step toward igniting that growth.
If your union would like to participate, please complete the form below. We encourage your union to participate at the local, state and national levels, and the form will work for all three.
In solidarity,
Ian Robinson
President, Huron Valley Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
President, Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium
What if every union turned out just 1% of its members for Labor Day, all wearing union-made shirts?
If unions across the country meet that goal together, we could generate one of the largest coordinated union-made apparel actions in modern labor history.
Choose How Your Union Will Participate
Whether your organization wants to join the official national campaign design or create a fully custom union-made shirt of your own, every SolidariTee order helps support union garment manufacturing and demonstrates growing demand for union-made apparel.
OFFICIAL
SOLIDARITEE
Join unions across the country in wearing the shared national SolidariTee design for Labor Day 2026.
Features:
- Official national campaign artwork
- 100% union-made garments
- Union printed in Los Angeles
- Shared national movement identity
- Simplest participation option
Best for:
Labor councils, federations, locals, and organizations that want to visibly participate in the national campaign.
CO-BRANDED
SOLIDARITEE
A 1-color version of your union logo to the SolidariTee design. No minimum order if using the national/international logo. 250 piece minimum if including the name of your local.
Features:
- Maintains shared campaign identity
- Allows local ownership and customization
- 100% union-made garments
- Union printed in Los Angeles
CUSTOM UNION
SOLIDARITY ORDER
Use your own design, colors, and branding while supporting union-made garment manufacturing through the SolidariTee campaign.
This option is for unions and organizations that already have their own Labor Day or campaign artwork, but want to participate in the SolidariTee project and help get garment workers organized.
We ask that unions using this option incorporate the SolidariTee logo at the top of this page into your design (e.g. nape of neck, sleeve, or alongside the union bug).
T-shirt Color Options: Black, Charcoal, Heather Military, Red, Royal, Storm Grey Heather, Navy, and White.
To Purchase the SolidariTee in quantities of 12 or fewer,
please place your order here:
The SolidariTee is provided by Ethix Merch, an ARAMP alliance member and provider of union-made and union-printed custom promotional products.
A portion of the proceeds from SolidariTee will support ARAMP’s efforts to regrow the UNION garment industry.