Monthly Archives: January 2024

A union has the right to use a company’s logo in a logo that the union uses to identify an organizing or bargaining campaign, so long as the union adds wording that makes it clear that the logo identifies the campaign and not the company. In other words, when customers or the general public see the whole logo – including the added wording – they should not be confused that it is related to the company.

For example, the REI campaign considered making campaign logos that used REI’s exact logo and added the word “union,” the location of the bargaining unit, for example, Berkeley, and the union’s logo, either UFCW or RWDSU:

REI’s logos feature the company’s name in a distinct font, the image of a tree, and a jagged line meant to depict mountain peaks.

During the organizing campaigns, the campaigns opted for versions of the above logo that still used REI’s exact logo. The campaigns added words or symbols, such as the vest outline on the tree (REI refers to workers as “green vests”) in the UFCW Local 5 logo for the Berkeley, Calif., campaign; the RWDSU/UFCW logos for the Cleveland and New York City campaigns; and the sun peeking behind the mountains for the UFCW Local 663 Maple Grove, Minn., campaign.

Courts have recognized the rights of unions to use company logos in logos identifying their campaigns. For example, a court recently dismissed a lawsuit Trade Joe’s filed against Trader Joe’s United claiming that the union infringed on the company’s trademark by using the logo on merchandise that the union was selling on its website. The court ruled that it is unlikely that anyone could reasonably think that the campaign was the company because a consumer buying merchandise on the union’s website would see criticisms of the company, which would make clear that the union – not the company – was selling the merchandise. This, plus the visual differences in the logos, showed that is unlikely that the general public could confuse the campaign for the company. 

How this can help you

If locals believe that using the company’s logo in the campaign’s logo would more effectively attract the attention of workers or the support of the general public, this law gives locals the right to use the company’s logo, as long as the local adds text that makes it clear that the logo identifies the campaign, and not the company.

For the same reasons, locals can use company logos to identify bargaining campaigns.

Locals can also use this law to respond to companies who ask the union to stop using their logo in the campaign’s logo. Specifically, the union should point out to the company that the union has the right to use the company’s logo because the language the union added makes it clear that the logo identifies the campaign and no one could reasonably think that the campaign was passing off itself off as the company.

Any questions about using a company’s logo during a campaign should be addressed to George Wiszynski at gwiszynski@ufcw.org or Viraj Patel at vpatel@ufcw.org.

The month of February is Black History Month–an annual celebration of the incredible contributions of African American leaders and pioneers who did so much to advance civil rights and expand opportunities for generations of workers.

Black History Month dates to 1926, when historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans dedicated the second week in February as “Negro History Week” to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. In 1976, the celebration was officially recognized and expanded by President Gerald Ford and every U.S. president since then has celebrated Black History Month during the month of February.

During Black History Month, we will pay tribute to civil rights and labor leaders and other prominent individuals in the African American community for all they have done to advance equality and justice. We will honor and remember the past and how far we have come, and highlight those who are actively fighting for civil, human, and labor rights to ensure a better life for all. The International’s Black History Month program will return in hybrid form with an in-person/digital format. The program will take place on Monday, Feb. 12, and will revolve around the theme “Black Life: Labor History and Culture.”

During the program, Dr. Marcia Walker-McWilliams of Tulane University will address the critical civil rights history of the UFCW through the specific lens of Charlie Hayes and Addie Wyatt, two African American labor leaders who championed civil rights in the UFCW and predecessor unions. She will explore their paths to labor leadership and how they merged civil rights activism with labor organizing to build a larger, stronger, and more diverse labor movement. She will then participate in a panel with past and rising UFCW leaders, including Willie Baker and Latoya Mathis, who will talk about their individual paths within the UFCW.

Please visit our website and social media platforms throughout February to find the latest information about the annual program, additional events, and programming for the month. If your local has a member activist you would like to profile during Black History Month, please contact Julie Anderson at janderson@ufcw.org.