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US Museum Creates Exhibit for Union T-shirts

Monday 06th of August 2007 09:11:52 PM

Turning union worker T-Shirts into quilts was the idea of Angelica Santomauro, museum director for the American Labor Museum/Botto House National Landmark, which is located in New Jersey, USA as a way to display the many T-Shirts used by various unions over the years. By contacting unions and asking them to send T-Shirts and donations for the cost of labour, the museum has amassed a collection of hundreds of shirts from unions dating back as far as 1925.

As shirts are collected, they are sent to Michigan, USA to be sewn together to form the quilts. The work is done by Andrea T. Funk, who owns a t-shirt quilting business. "Unions are part of the fabric of Michigan, but I didn't realise how many different types of unions there were," said Funk. T-Shirts from all parts of the US including California and New York have been donated to the museum.

The museum's education director, Evelyn Hersey said the shirts are a way to teach young children about the way unions have affected the United States over the years. In the past, unions handed out T-Shirts to those attending rallies and conferences. When protesting, many unions used buttons and insignias to show unity because T-Shirts were worn only as undergarments during certain time periods.

(c)Benjamin Earwicker, www.sxc.hu

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