Bread and Roses button

A button from Bread and Roses, the cultural program of the hospital workers union 1199 SEIU, United Healthcare Workers.

On back of button–“Union Label Trades Council, New York”

Bread and Roses is a historic demand and also the name of a pioneering cultural initiative.

The Bread and Roses Cultural Project was founded in 1979 by Moe Foner, Vice President of the New York Health and Human Service Union, Local 1199 (now SEIU Local 1199) to engage hospital workers in creating and appreciating theater, creative writing, photography, and art.  Esther Cohen, succeeding Foner, created the Unseen America project in 2001(providing cameras and photography training to low-wage workers), collaborated with artists to make posters about work and workers, ran the union’s art gallery, and programmed memorable art and culture events for decades.

The term “Bread and Roses” is attributed to labor union leader Rose Schneiderman in a 1912 speech to textile strikers in Lawrence, Massachusetts. She insisted that working women deserved BOTH a sustainable wage AND time to enjoy the fruits of their labor.  The strike became known as the Bread and Roses strike, and James Oppenheim wrote the poem “Bread and Roses” which, put to music, has been sung at labor actions ever since.