Illustration of yellow classic car on an orange background.  Bottom portion of button is a yellow and black checker pattern.  Red and white text.

Die Cast Machine Tools Ltd was a British company that manufactured toys for children under the brand Lone Star Products Ltd beginning in 1939. They produced toy soldiers and other figurines, as well as toy cars, trains, and planes for decades. Lone Star came out with their "Flyer" series of toy cars in 1968 which came with faster wheels than the previous cars made by the company. These toy cars were sold in the "Flyway Set" which came with a track, Flyer car, and a button. The plant that manufactured these toys closed down in the late 1980s.

Blue text inside a red circle on a white background.

The Beatles were a 1960s English rock band from Liverpool comprised of four childhood friends: Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. This quartet took the music world by storm with their unconventional sound of rock, skiffle, and pop, which gained them international fame. Their first album entitled "Please Please Me" which debuted in 1963 climbed to the top of the charts and received musical acclaim from Rolling Stone magazine as being one of the greatest albums of all-time. However, that was only the beginning of their success. They continued to make great music and release iconic hits, such as "Love Me Do" and "Hey Jude."

Red button with black text and two skinny black lines. 

Labor unions became increasingly popular in the United States during and after the Great Depression and Second World War, and the state of Wisconsin was regularly one of the most unionized states by percentage. Wisconsin employers often resisted union demands, which led to a period of prolonged strikes beginning in 1947 and lasting until 1960.

Independent unions are those not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor (AFL) or the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). The color red is traditionally associated with socialism and Communism. Unions, by nature socialist, adopted the color; that would be used against them during the era of national panic over Communism, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, during the Cold War.

It is possible that this button was part of a strike in summer 1947.

Black illustration of an Aztec eagle on a red background

The Aztec eagle is the symbol of the United Farm Workers (UFW) union, which works to support the rights of farm workers. The UFW (originally the National Farm Workers Association) was co-founded by civil rights activist Cesar Chavez and women’s rights activist Dolores Huerta in 1962. In the 1970s, the UFW became the recognized bargaining agent for approximately 50,000 farm workers and gained national support.

Red border with white text around top and bottom, black-and-white tree illustration on white background in center. 

The Texas Farm Workers Union (TFWU) was established in 1975 by Antonio Orendain, who had previously worked with Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers (UFW), organizing laborers for the national grape and lettuce boycotts. Unlike Chavez's efforts in California, TFWU was unsuccessful in persuading the state of Texas to establish a Texas Agricultural Board. In February 1977, TFWU members marched from San Juan, Texas to the state capital building in Austin, Texas, arriving on April 2, 1977 after covering over 400 miles. Later that year, Orendain led 40 workers on a 1600-mile march from Austin to Washington, DC, which took nearly four months. Orendain and the Texas Farm Workers Union never gained much support from the United Farm Workers, and with little funding, the union was defunct by the mid-1980s. 

Yellow female symbol with a black Aztec eagle in the center and black text underneath on a red background

The United Farm Workers (UFW) union works to support the rights of farm workers. The UFW (originally the National Farm Workers Association) was co-founded by civil rights activist Cesar Chavez and women’s rights activist Dolores Huerta in 1962. In the 1970s, the UFW became the recognized bargaining agent for approximately 50,000 farm workers and gained national support.  The Aztec eagle on the button is the symbol of the UFW.  The Venus symbol represents the female gender, and the phrase, “Viva La Mujer” translates to Long Live the Woman.

White button with black text and a black and white photograph in the center.

This button was made by the United Farm Workers, a union of Filipino and Mexican American farm workers, in the 1970s. The United Farm Workers were led by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta and won the right to organize farm workers after the Delano grape boycott in 1965-1970. The words Viva La Huelga, meaning long live the strike, are the rallying cry of the United Farm Workers. 

The picture is of Emiliano Zapata, a leader of the 1910 Mexican Revolution. Zapata called for a redistribution of land and is remembered in Mexico today as a supporter of peasants and Native Americans. He became a central symbol of the United Farm Workers and the Delano Grape Boycott.

Black and white photograph of Emiliano Zapata with a white outer ring with black text

Emiliano Zapata Salazar featured prominently in the Mexican Revolution.  He led the peasant revolution and was the inspiration for Zapatismo, an agrarian movement.  Born in 1879, he lived in Morelos, Mexico.  He was an early activist in movements against the dictator Porfirio Diaz, and in 1910, Zapata became a leader of the peasant uprising in Morelos and formed the Liberation Army of the South.  The peasant revolutionaries were fighting against pressure from landowners who monopolized water and land resources with the support of Diaz.  The peasant army contributed to the fall of Diaz, and Zapata then concentrated on rebuilding Morelos and enacting land reforms.  In 1919, he was killed in an ambush while defending Morelos against the Constitutionalist Army.  The button’s text translates to "Live the Cause".

Black text above a black stylized eagle on a bright green background

In August 1970, the United Farm Workers called for a nation-wide boycott of all lettuce growers in the Salinas Valley.  The boycott was to protest the poor wages and living conditions of the lettuce pickers, many of whom were unskilled migrant workers.  Approximately 10,000 farm workers went on strike, and over the next three weeks, lettuce production dropped approximately 70%.  The price of lettuce almost doubled, and shipments of fresh lettuce nearly ceased.  Nixon publicly opposed the boycott and criticized its leaders.  Persistence on the part of the United Farm Workers led to the passage of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act in 1975, but the boycott was not formally ended until 1978.

Illustrations of a strawberry and an eagle on a white background within a red border with black text on the top and bottom edges

In 1996, the United Farm Workers of America (UFW) took on the strawberry industry via pickets and protest marches.  The UFW wanted to draw attention to the berry pickers’ poor working conditions, low wages, and lack of health insurance.  “Justicia/Dignidad” (Justice/ Dignity) were two of the ideals driving the UFW to organize the strawberry workers.  In March 2001, the UFW and Coastal Berry Co. (the United States’ largest employer of strawberry workers) signed a contract.  The agreement made the company’s employees the best paid workers in California at the time.