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culture

Vintage Toronto Ads: Union-Friendly Garments

From the corner of Queen and Yonge, a clothier proudly states their support for organized labour.

By Jamie Bradburn

Source: Citizen and Country, May 4, 1900.

Given the whiff of union-bashing in the air as municipal labour strife looms, it’s hard to imagine a headline such as the one employed here by clothier Philip Jamieson being created by a similar business these days. While today’s vintage ad appeared in a publication dedicated to covering the union movement, it does suggest that not all employers at the time abhorred their unionized workers.

Philip Jamieson established his clothing business soon after arriving from Scotland in 1873. By the time the above ad was published, the firm was located in a curved building at 2 Queen Street West [PDF] designed by architects Samuel Curry and Francis S. Baker. Over the years, the building’s tenants have included Woolworth’s, Tower Records, GoodLife Fitness, Coast Mountain Sports, and Atmosphere.

Next time you wander in 2 Queen West for sports apparel, ask the cashier if you’ll receive a discount for flashing the United Garment Workers of America logo or a label from the union it later merged into, the United Food and Commercial Workers.

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  • Canadianskeezix

    It’s worth noting that Philip Jamieson was located next door to the gigantic former Eaton’s Main Store. There is an unspoken message in this ad, and it was directed at his neighbour. Jamieson was wearing his politics on his sleeve and doing his best to appeal to union-member shoppers, but I have no doubt that he was also looking to needle Timothy Eaton and distinguish himself from Eaton. Eaton was notoriously anti-union, and even prohibited his employees from standing near the store doors and windows when the annual Labour Day parade marched past on Yonge Street.

  • Anonymous

    From a more innocent time, when people were still blissfully unware of the frankenstein monster that is the public sector union. Who could have imagined that they’d eventually have the power to cause entire nations to go broke?