Why we wear Red

Post date: Oct 24, 2017 9:30:41 PM

So, what's up with the Red Shirts? Some people have asked me why we wear Red shirts on Tuesday? I have had a member tell me that they thought it was the closest color to maroon we could find. Others think it's because we are "angry" about something. Nothing could be further from the truth. The color "red" has been associated with labor since the early 1800's. The UAW notes:

"The modern tradition dates back to 1989 with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) whose members wear red on Thursdays. Gerry Horgan was a CWA chief steward for Westchester County in New York who died in August 1989 while he worked a picket line. He left behind a wife and two daughters. The vehicle that struck him was driven by a scab and the teenage daughter of a manager who was never charged for his death. CWA members wear their red shirts on Thursdays to remember Horgan and the sacrifices he made protecting the picket line.

Wearing the red shirt to show solidarity took on extra meaning during Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s relentless attacks on labor. Unionists around the country wanted to show solidarity with Wisconsin and donned red shirts once a week. Today, it remains an act of showing unity – both to one another and the world. It’s not anti-management; it’s a positive statement of workers standing together." (https://uaw.org/members/labor-lab/red-shirt-wednesday/)

In the world of education, it appears that wearing Red for Public Education started on January 4, 2011 The idea of wearing red to show support for public education has become a nationwide movement.