Red and black text on a white background with illustrations of three men's heads and an Aztec eagle

Emiliano Zapata Salazar, Martin Luther King, and John F. Kennedy all supported farm workers and were active in championing for their rights.  Zapata featured prominently in the Mexican Revolution.  He led a peasant revolution in Morelos, Mexico and formed the Liberation Army of the South in 1910.  Zapata also rebuilt Morelos and enacted land reforms.   In 1960, John F. Kennedy established the Viva Kennedy Club to support Latino politics, and his brother Robert F. Kennedy was particularly supportive of Cesar Chavez and the farm workers movement.  Together they brought national attention to the grape strike during the 1960s and 1970s.  Martin Luther King supported farm workers’ rights activist Cesar Chavez, and Chavez followed King’s example of non-violent protest.  Chavez co-founded the United Farm Workers of America with Dolores Huerta in 1962, and it became the first successful farm workers union.  The Aztec eagle depicted on the button is the symbol of this union, and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a federation of labor organizations.

Black illustration of Emiliano Zapata holding a flag with text on it on a bright red background

Emiliano Zapata Salazar is holding a flag stating, "We Shall Overcome."  Zapata 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. 

Black illustration of an Aztec eagle on a white background with an outer red edge with white text

The United Farm Workers (UFW) union works to support the rights of farm workers. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), is a federation of labor organizations.  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. Chavez was an advocate of non-violent tactics and peaceful activism. 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.

Black and white photograph of Cesar Chavez with black text on a white background

Cesar Chavez was a civil rights activist and American labor leader.  In 1962, he co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW) union (initially known as the National Farm Workers Association).  Chavez advocated non-violent tactics and gained national support for the farm workers.  In the late 1970s, growers finally recognized the UFW as the bargaining agent for approximately 50,000 farm workers in Florida and California.  After his death in 1993, Chavez became an iconic figure for labor organization and Hispanic empowerment.  In addition to promoting peaceful activism, he promoted the slogan, “Si, se puede” (Yes, it can be done), which was Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign slogan.

White button with black text and a red no symbol over it. 

Swing shifts are employed by businesses that stay open for 24 hours and usually involve covering the "swing" from morning to night. In certain businesses, the "graveyard" or night shifts are also defined as swing shifts. Generally speaking, any hourly shift that does not take place during typical daylight hours could fall into this category. Swing shifts are controversial in the workers' rights movement. On the one hand, they allow for families in which both parents work to avoid paying for childcare, as one parent can be at home during the day and the other at night. Graveyard and swing shifts can also be subject to increased pay due to the physical and mental toll of working overnight. On the other, swing shifts have been linked to increased risk for many health conditions as well as a shortened lifespan and reduced short- and long-term memory. For this reason, swing shifts have often been the subject of protest with workers arguing that businesses such as grocery stores should not stay open for 24 hours at the cost of hourly workers' safety.

Illustration of a grey, white and black robot with black text on a white background with red circle around the outer edge and red line across

In 1980 Edward “Ted” Kennedy, an American politician ran against President Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination. However, the delegates had already committed to voting for President Carter during the primaries and the Democratic Rule F3C required them to vote for him. Kennedy argued against this rule, nicknaming it the “robot rule”. Kennedy’s “No F3C Robot Rule” campaign failed, though the rule was eliminated two years later. 

White button with black text and a red no symbol over it. 

This button was likely created to protest 12-hour work days.

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Black and red text on a blue background with an outer yellow edge and a yellow smiley face

"The One With the Most _____ Wins" is a switch-out phrase commonly seen on pinbacks, such as "The One With the Most Toys Wins" or "The One With the Most Guitars Wins".

White text and photograph of Dorothy Hamill on olive-green background. 

Dorothy Hamill is an American figure skating champion. At the age of 12, she won the novice ladies' title at the US Championships in 1969. She placed second at the junior level the following year, and began competing internationally in 1971, at 14 years old. Hamill held the the title of US Champion from 1974 to 1976, and won the gold medals at both the 1976 Winter Olympics held in Innsbruck, Austria and 1976 World Figure Skating Championships in Goteborg, Sweden. The media dubbed young Dorothy as "America's sweetheart" and her signature bobbed hairstyle and oversized eyeglasses started a trend in the 1970's. Hamill is also known for developing a new skating move, a camel spin that turns into a sit spin, which became known as the "Hamill camel". After turning professional, she was a headliner for the Ice Capades, a traveling figure skating show, from 1977 to 1984. Hamill is known as one of America's most popular athletes and has remained active in the figure skating world.