Wharton Grad Says Unions are Great - Mitch Cahn - Unionwear

Who says that the only way for a manufacturer to make money is to send production outside of the USA? Not Mitch Cahn. After graduating from Wharton and working on Wall Street, Mitch decided he wanted to create something. So, in the early 1990’s he bought the distressed assets of a hat manufacturer and very purposely brought back the unionized workers that had been employed there. Twenty-eight years later, Mitch’s company, Unionwear, is the only manufacturer of American made baseball hats produced by unionized employees. In fact, he is the go-to source for every presidential campaign and anyone who wants the world to know that they care about where their merchandise is made and who makes it.

To learn more about Unionwear click here.

Listen and Subscribe on Your Favorite Platform…

…Or, Push Play Below to Listen Here

Outside the Unionwear factory in Newark, NJ

Mitch is committed to keeping Unionwear in Newark for the long run. Uionwear is one of the largest Newark-based employers of Newark residents.

Every hat or bag starts as a roll of fabric

This fabric is being used for military medics’ kids.

Fabric is laid out in preparation for cutting.

Cutting dies used for cutting patterns.

Lean manufacturing dictates that every die have a very specific place. This cuts down on the time needed to find a new die.

Each location is labeled too.

Each of these triangles is a panel for a baseball hat.

The next step in the hat making process is to sew panels together.

José Bellon, VP of Operations, meets with the factory staff.

Each morning the union staff meets for updates and education.

Unionwear is one of the few who can proudly display the 'made in America' flag.

The Righteous Capitalists hats begin their journey after 4 of 6 panels are sewn together.

The Righteous Capitalists logo is digitized from a PNG file to a file compatible with the embroidery machines.

The yarn is selected. Do those colors look familiar?

With Unionwear you can embroider in 6 different locations on one hat. That's the advantage of embroidering during the manufacturing process.

#TakeLess - That's exactly what Mitch Cahn of Unionwear does to provide all his workers with union wages and benefits.

Soon, these velcro straps will be put on the back of The Righteous Capitalists Hats.

Embroidery on the front panel begins.

12 hats are embroidered at once.

One color is done at a time.

It's done!