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.

A golden badge with gold text inside and blue text above/below it on a white background. 

The American Legion was founded in 1919 as a non-profit veterans organization. The American Legion advocates for veterans benefits such as medical care, housing, and education. It also sponsors youth baseball leagues and boy scout troops.  American Legion members are referred to as "Legionnaires".

An illustration of a trolley and a bus with green text above and below the illustration. A green ring with white text on it surrounds the illustration. The illustration and green text are set against a white background. 

The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), Local 241 was chartered on 1 April 1902 in Chicago, Illinois under the name Amalgamated Association of Street and Electrical Railway Employees of America (AASEREA). The AASEREA, itself, had been founded ten years before in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1964, the AASEREA changed its name to the ATU.

The 1960s was the decade of the Civil Rights movement and a period of racial integration in American cities.  Chicago was no different.  While equal rights debates and skirmishes made headlines in the newspapers and top stories on the evening news, Division 241 leaders did not see it as something to debate.  Racial debates were not a topic allowed at meetings.  Its official stance was that all people had an equal right to a job and membership.  In 1968, African-American members of the 241 also thought that leadership positions should be equally distributed, too.  It took over one year to convince the union of equal leadership opportunity, but by 1971, it was the ATU's position internationally.  

An illustration of a trolley with blue text below it and white text on a curved pink stripe above it. The trolley and the blue text are set on a white background. 

The Amalgamated Association of Street and Electrical Railway Employees of America (AASEREA), Local 241 was chartered on 1 April 1902 in Chicago, Illinois. The AASEREA, itself, was founded ten years before in Indianapolis, Indiana. Street railway employees had been trying to organize since the late 1880s, but it took Samuel Gompers, of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), to become involved to get the union off the ground.  

A likely topic at the June 1950 would have been the union's new pension plan being adopted nationwide. It had been proposed and later awarded to Chicago's 241 and 308 the previous year. The new pension plan was based upon time in the career and overall earnings, rather than a flat amount for all pensioners.