Hotcards, Full Color Printing In The Nation

We begin our foray into political blogging by revisiting the roots of union printing and finding out that it has a lot more to do with the political buzz of the day than you might expect.

The interweb has been jumping over the last few days with reviews and opinions on the State of the Union Address. Politicos on both sides of the playing field were quick to point out that the only thing left un-addressed by the decider-in-chief was the actual state of our much-loved, much-maligned, oft-times rhetorically misrepresented union.

Which means that it’s probably high time to start remembering that it is life within the Union, and the life of the Union, that matters the most. This at least, has been at the heart of many a cutting witticism on the subject around here at Hot Cards, where being part of a union – the Graphic Communications International Union – and being part of the Union – of the States – has always been one and the same.

We, like a lot of other people out there, are looking forward to an election race that will get us all thinking about the reasons why our Union is important, rather than reasons for tearing it apart. Sure, the election is still almost two years away, but once democratic candidates start running, things get real busy real fast here at Hot Cards.

Busy, you say? Running for office, you say?

No, no, no. We’ll be busy because we are a Union and Political Printshop, which means that all of our work can be printed with the union bug – a friendly little watermark that shows consumers / voters that campaign materials, advertising, and even design work have been done using union labor.

Being a Union and Political Printshop is not cheap. But we’ve found it to be more than worthwhile in terms of the benefits enjoyed by all of our employees, and in the access it gives us to doing great work in the heart of the campaign hubbub leading up to elections.

So after a week of exciting campaign announcements (or ‘presidential exploratory committee’ announcements) and of course, the SOTU circus, we started to get really interested in the whole idea of the union, and in our union’s relevance to political concerns of the day.

So we did a little investigative work into our roots…

The Graphic Communications International Union evolved from the International Typographical Union, which is the most long-standing trade union in the U.S. Even in the 1800s, when it was founded, the ITU was light years ahead of its time in providing health care, pensions, education, and a democratic governing body to its workers.

The ITU was also one of the first unions to admit women, and they formed the powerful Women’s International Auxiliary, whose motto, way back in 1902, was “Spend Union Earned Money for Union Label Products and Union Services.”

Okay, so it’s not that catchy, but at least they never made it into an acronym: SpUEMULPUS – ew!

As the whole printing process became more and more complex and specialized, the ITU branched off into distinct unions like the GCIU. However, the printers’ commitment to top-notch working conditions, health care, retirement plans, and democratic decision-making remained.

As a bastion of democracy, it’s no surprise that today, union printing has become an integral part of the campaign process. A massive amount of print material is involved in campaigning, and candidates who support union labor have their work done through union printshops.

Many of the policies and ideals held by the GCIU embody what democratic candidates and their constituents want to bring back to this Union of States in the coming election. We can expect issues like health care, education, public welfare, and even the integrity of the democratic process itself to be central to campaign politics. And this means that a barrage of visual images and slogans hitting at these major points will inundate the public arena from all angles.

The appearance and impact of print advertising can, in fact, make or break a bid for election, which is why we here at Hot Cards are passionate about politics. In the coming months, we’ll be blogging regularly to discuss the shifting state of the union (and the campaign trail) from a print perspective. We’ll also be talking about print and design strategies that campaign managers and others involved in the campaigning process can use to increase visibility, attract attention, and stand out from those crowded front lawn signage smörgåsbords.

Stay tuned, feel free to question and comment, and let us know what you think about the state of your Union. Is there unity? Or are we a big bowl of alphabet soup that will never form a word? Watch with us as things develop, and don’t forget to wear your hardhat on the floor. If your brain falls out you will not be covered.