Illustration of a blue and orange football helmet with orange and blue stripes on either side, blue below and white above with blue, orange and white text

Led by coach Mike Ditka, the 1985 Chicago Bears championship football team was widely regarded as one of the most dominant in NFL history. The Bears finished the regular season with a 15-1 record and went on to defeat the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl. The team released a rap song performed by the players called "Super Bowl Shuffle," which reached Number 41 on the US Billboard Hot 100 list. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for best rhythm and blues performance by a duo or group, but lost to "Kiss" by artist Prince. 

Red text on a white background

We Deserve a Living Wage is the rallying cry for proponents of the new Living Wage standard for minimum income levels for Americans.  “Living wage” differs from “minimum wage” in that a living wage is seen as the minimum income an individual needs to earn to support themselves or their family in order to meet basic needs, and bring them above the poverty level.  A minimum wage is typically less than a living wage.  Living wage laws have been passed in several cities, but they do not apply to the population as a whole – only to companies that have government contracts or that receive certain forms of financial assistance from the government. 

Minimum wage laws differ from state to state but they apply to the whole population.  There are many studies being conducted as to what constitutes a living wage, most notably those being published by MIT.  The National Employment Law Project states there are over a dozen legislative or ballot proposals expected to be made in 2016 pushing for living wage increases. 

Black text on white background with black Aztec eagle in center on pink upside-down triangle background. 

The Delano Grape Strike was a labor strike in California that began in September of 1965, and lasted for more than five years. The striking workers, led by Cesar Chavez and others, formed the United Farm Workers and demanded wages equivalent to the federal minimum wage. Through grassroots efforts, including consumer boycotts of non-union grapes, the United Farm Workers succeeded in reaching a collective bargaining agreement with the grape growers in July 1970. 

Blue text on a white background

Union Fighting Funds support union members involved in labor disputes with employers. The fighting funds are financed by union employees who contribute portions of their pay to the fund. United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of American (UE) Local 107 operated from 1936 to 1986 at the South Philadelphia Works of the Westinghouse Company in Lester, Pennsylvania. Westinghouse employees threatened to strike in 1952, and breakdown in labor talks culminated in a major walk-out in 1955 involving 45,560 employees shutting down half the company’s production.

Black text on red background with black Aztec eagle in the center. 

The Salad Bowl strike began in August 1970 and led to the largest farm worker strike in American history. Led by United Farm Workers against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, it culminated in the passage of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act in 1975. In summer 1970, 6,000 drivers and packing workers (represented by the Teamsters) went on strike, causing the price of lettuce to triple instantly. The UFW, outraged because their jurisdiction over field workers was lost, supported a nationwide boycott of any lettuce that was not picked by members of the UFW. The strike ended on March 26, 1971, when the Teamsters and UFW signed an agreement restating the UFW’s right to organize field workers.

Pink button with black text and a black eagle symbol in the center. 

The Delano Grape Strike was a labor strike in California that began in September of 1965, and lasted for more than five years. The striking workers, led by Cesar Chavez and others, formed the United Farm Workers and demanded wages equivalent to the federal minimum wage. Through grassroots efforts, including consumer boycotts of non-union grapes, the United Farm Workers succeeded in reaching a collective bargaining agreement with the grape growers in July 1970. 

Orange button with black text and a black eagle symbol in the center. 

The Delano Grape Strike was a labor strike in California that began in September of 1965, and lasted for more than five years. The striking workers, led by Cesar Chavez and others, formed the United Farm Workers and demanded wages equivalent to the federal minimum wage. Through grassroots efforts, including consumer boycotts of non-union grapes, the United Farm Workers succeeded in reaching a collective bargaining agreement with the grape growers in July 1970. 

White text on a green cross in the center of the button on a red background with a white outer edge with red and green text and white text along the button edge

Portland cement is a product developed by Englishman Joseph Aspdin in the 1820s which became known as "Portland" because the concrete resembled a popular stone mined on the Isle of Portland. The Portland Cement Association (PCA) was organized in the U.S. in 1916 to address issues related to research, testing methods, standards, and technical information. Portland cement is caustic, so it can cause chemical burns, and the powder can cause irritation and with prolonged exposure can lead to lung cancer.

The 1950s ushered in the age of the interstate, and PCA focused its efforts on educating concrete workers on safety issues relating to handling the cement and the public on the value of concrete highways, often using celebrity spokesman, such as Bob Hope in their advertisements.

Navy blue button with white text and a purple ribbon attached. 

Pat Nixon was President Richard Nixon's wife and was the First Lady of the United States from 1969-1974. 

The "Pat for First Lady" message was popular during her husband's campaign against John F. Kennedy in the election of 1960. This slogan could be seen on buttons and bumper stickers, among other items. It was specifically targeted toward housewives, a group that the Republican Party courted during the 1950s. The media went so far as to try to create a race between Pat Nixon and Jacqueline Kennedy, whose husband would ultimately win the Presidency. 

Illustration of a black cat on a wall with black text on a light blue and light orange background.

This button was part of a set of 376 known buttons, issued as premiums primarily with Hassan and Tokio cigarettes. Hassan was a line of inexpensive Turkish-blend cigarettes produced by the American Tobacco Company in the first quarter of the 20^th century.  During this time, novelty items such as pinbacks and trading cards were given away with cigarette packages and featured “I’m the guy” slogans with various cartoon depictions. 

Rube Goldberg, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, best known for his zany invention cartoons, coined the phrase “I’m the Guy.”  Several other cartoonists of that era, including George McManus, Bud Fisher, Hal Hoffman, and Tad Dorgan, used the phrase to depict comical characters for pinbacks.  Dorgan's comic strips gave us the common phrases, "for crying out loud" and "the cat's pajamas."  This button appears to have been illustrated by Hal Hoffman.