Blue text on gold background with blue ring along the outer edge of the button.  The text is between an illustration of two radio towers.

In the 1920’s, Gimbels department store owned Philadelphia radio station, WIP. One of the most popular personalities on the station was children's show host Uncle Wip who read bedtime stories. Over the years, he was portrayed by several, but the first Uncle Wip was Christopher Graham. 

A yellow shield with symbols inside of it made out of a ruler and compass. The shied has green text in a yellow box to the right and left of it plus yellow text circuiting around it. Everything is set against a green background. 

The Latin phrase "Work Conquers All" was the motto of California Bay Area based Furniture Workers' Union, Local 3141, which was part of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America (UBCJA).  The union was organized on 4 August 1934 and the UBCJA chartered the union on 3 April 1935.  It represented furniture and bedding industrial workers.  Local 3141 merged with Millmen's Local 42 and the Shipwrights Local 1149 in 1988 to form Carpenters' Union Local 2236.

The motto remains the UBCJA's motto.  The UBCJA formed in August 1881 in Chicago, Illinois as the United Brotherhood of Carpenters.  UBCJA's first general secretary and co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, Peter J. McGuire, helped get Labor Day established as national holiday in the US.

A black-and-white photograph of Mark I. Forkner with white text.

Freemasonry is a fraternal organization that traces its origins to the local fraternities of stonemasons, which from the end of the fourteenth century regulated the qualifications of masons and their interaction with authorities and clients. Mark I. Forkner was a member of the Masons of North Dakota, and was designated as a worshipful master from 1917 to 1918. He was later installed as Grand Master in 1934.

An illustration of a  blue donkey and red elephant holding a flag with a red symbol. Red text above and blue text below the illustration against a white background. 

This button is describing the International Council of Shopping Centers' (ICSC) focus on public policy. The ICSC was founded in 1957 and is the global trade association for shopping centers. Their mission statement states that they advocate the interest of their shopping centers to governmental bodies; they actively shape public policy to help benefit their members. This button may be from the "advocating" part of their office. 

An illustration of atomic related equipment inside a circle with with orange text surrounding it, against an orange background. 

The Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Union (OCAW) was founded in the San Joaquin Valley of California.  It originated with oil-rig workers striking over being denied an eight-hour work day in 1917.  In 1918, the American Federation of Labor granted the group a charter under the name Association of Oil Field, Gas Well, and Refinery Workers.  During the 1930s, the union joined the Congress of Industrial Organizations.  The union took Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Union as its name in 1955 and became a nationwide union.  Local 2-443 was a chapter from Montana.  In the late 1960s, the local went on strike over what they claimed to be dangerous work conditions in oil refineries.  The Montana strike grew to include over seven hundred thousand employees.  Around the same time as the Montana strike, OCAW was lobbying congress to pass what became the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA).  By the early 1970s, OCAW contracts included clauses directly addressing health and safety issues.  In 1999, OCAW merged with the United Paperworkers union and formed the Paper Allied-Industrial, Chemical, and Energy Workers International Union (PACE), which as over three hundred thousand members.

The success of both the OCAW and the passage of OSHA was in no small part due to OCAW long-time union official Tony Mazzocchi (1926–2002).  During a period of American corporatization of labor in the 1980s, Mazzocchi also pushed for the formation of what became the Labor Party Advocates (LPA).  LPA was retitled the Labor Party in 1996.  The party does not have a national mainstream political voice.

An illustration of a eagle on a bugle shield with blue text above and red text below it.  Everything is set on a white background. 

This is a button identifying a member of Bundles for America. Bundles for America was started in 1942 by the President's Committee on War Relief Agencies. The founding organization president was Mrs. Wales Latham, and most of the volunteers were women. The organization was a national war relief club, providing regulation garments, "service kits" and furnishings to the Armed Forces during World War II. The slogan "Let's Hit Back Hard" seen on this button was adopted in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. 

A red cross with a blue circle around it and blue text above and below it. Everything is set on a white background. 

The Beginner Swimmer button was awarded to participants who completed the same self-titled swim class offered by the American Red Cross throughout the U.S. During the mid to late 1900s, various swim clubs and public pools taught these water safety and skills classes by ARC certified instructors.  The primary goal of the Beginner Swimmer class was for participants to become comfortable in the water then gain fundamental skills such as floating, submerging and treading water.  General aquatic safety for the Beginner Swimmer included walking (not running) on wet surfaces, look-before-you-leap, and recognizing the lifeguard on duty.   

Illustration of a green shamrock and a blue union bug with blue and red text on a white background. 

This button represents Chicago's Beer Drivers and Helpers Union, Local 744. The local was part of the Teamsters. There was fierce competition between the Teamsters and the United Brewery Workers (UBW) about who would represent the beer drivers. In 1913, the American Federation of Labor awarded jurisdiction to UBW. In 1933, after the repeal of Prohibition, the Teamsters gained jurisdiction. The UBW and the Teamsters merged in 1973, putting an end to the competition.  

An illustration of a bird standing on a branch with a green background. 

This button refers to the National Audubon Society, which is tasked with conserving and restoring natural ecosystems. It was established in 1896 in Massachusetts. However, it only existed in individual states in its first few years. It wasn’t until 1901 did the other state-level societies combine into a loose national organization, that later cemented into a national society. Many laws have been passed and several acts ratified because of the work of the National Audubon Society.  The Society’s primary goal is protecting birds, but it also works towards protecting the rest of nature. The National Audubon Society is still around today and continues its mission

three separate pieces of blue text sits in a column formation.  Each word has a red square/cross to its left and right. Everything is set on a white background.

The American Red Cross (ARC) Life-Saving Service (LLS) began in 1914 in reaction to the growing number of drowning deaths in the U.S. And as the public demand for swimming and lifesaving instruction spread, the toll of lives lost declined.  Participants would receive a button upon the completion of any one of several leveled classes.  The Beginner course covered the most basic of skills - safely entering and exiting the water, bobbing, treading water and opening eyes underwater to retrieve objects.