We all know unions have our backs on the job, but did you know they also have your bottoms and soles?

The Atlanta-North Georgia Labor Council Community Services Committee just completed a successful underwear drive where it netted 704 items (socks, belts, T-shirts, underwear and bras), which were delivered to Crossroads Community Ministries in Atlanta yesterday morning.

Janine Brown, AFL-CIO community services liaison, says local unions either donated money or various undergarments over a two-month period. One retired UAW member provided a “windfall” last Saturday when she dropped off a bag full of new underwear she never got around to returning.

The labor council got the idea for the underwear drive when several retired NFL Players Association (NFLPA) members approached the community services team with an idea.

Each month, a group of retired NFLPA members pass out meals at Crossroads Ministries, which serves lunch to local families in need. A Crossroads volunteer pulled one retired player aside one afternoon and asked if he could help out with something the people desperately needed: underwear.

“After we decided to host the drive, people started bringing packages of underwear to labor council meetings,” says Brown, who coined the “back, bottom and soles” catchphrase. “It was such a cool thing.”

Pictured left to right: Dewey McClain (retired NFLPA member), Clyde Corbin (directors of Crossroads Kitchen), Amy Brunelle, Jim Nemeth (retired NFLPA member) and Janine Brown. Photo taken by Josh Cazares, southern regional director of the AFL-CIO Community Services.