Mother’s Day is a little more than a week away (May 12), so you have no excuse for waiting until the last minute to find a nice tribute for Mom that also carries the union label. Our friends at Labor 411, the union business directory from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, can help you out.

If there were fact checkers for corporate advertising, this would get four Pinocchios. Unionmade clothes aren’t. Unionmade is the San Francisco clothing company where those with way too much money and far too little common sense can spend $565 for a pair of “vintage” Levi Jeans or a $258 “work shirt.”

Are you looking for a bluegrass band for your Labor Day picnic? Or maybe you want something a bit funkier for an upcoming wedding and want to make sure you’re buying union?

That’s easy to do now, thanks to a new tool recently launched by the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM). AFM Entertainment (click here) lets you search a wide range of genres, from rockabilly to brass quintets to strolling violinists.

Most of us still have some holiday shopping to do and here are a few suggestions that can keep you out of the lines at the malls and big-box stores and warm the heart of any good trade unionist or progressive on your list.

Monday is Valentine’s Day and the last-minute rush is on this weekend to get the right candy, flowers, wine or champagne to show your loved one how much you care. How about showing some love for  union brothers and sisters at the same time by buying union-made products.