Cigar makers were among the first workers to unionize in North America, and were among the most militant. In the United States, the Cigar Makers International Union was responsible for the first national wage scale, the first industry-wide 8-hour day, and a union label used in both the U.S. and Canada. The label, applied on the outside of boxes, assured buyers that union-made cigars were of a high quality, made by workers paid a fair wage under decent working conditions.
Not all cigar factories were union shops, so not all boxes carried a CMIU label. Those that did had one of two: the earlier (1880 - 1894) bore the signature of union president A. Strasser, and contained text condemning cigars produced by "inferior rat-shop, COOLIE, PRISON, or FILTHY TENEMENT-HOUSE WORKMANSHIP." A more positive label (1894-1940s), over the signature of president J. W. Perkins, declared that the cigar-makers' union was "devoted to the advancement of the MORAL, MATERIAL, and INTELLECTUAL WELFARE OF THE CRAFT."
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Union label signed by A. Strasser, sometimes referred to as the "coolie" label.
Courtesy of Tony Hyman |
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The Perkins union label, often called the "moral" label.
Courtesy of Tony Hyman |
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