Regardless of how you feel about unions in general, most of us can agree that American workers deserve good wages, good benefits and good working conditions if they are to be productive and be able to contribute to America's economy and prosperity. One place patriotic consumers can support American workers by buying American-made products is at www.ShopUnionMade.com.

Hundreds of companies and their American-made products and services are on display in twenty different categories at www.ShopUnionMade.com, some of which have been featured on www.howtobuyamerican.com such as UnionBuiltPC.com and one of my personal favorites - UnionJeanCompany.com.

It is important that we support American workers and their American-made products in a broad number of categories so we can have a diverse workforce in this country. Free traders contend that it is a simple component of freedom to allow consumers to buy their products from any country they desire and at the cheapest price possible. But what they don't understand is that American workers should have the freedom to work in any industry that appeals to them, and it is in the industry of their choice where they will be the most productive.

Many of the categories on display at www.ShopUnionMade.com are some of the very industries that are in danger of being wiped from America's production landscape. These include clothing and accessories, jewelry and watches, toys and games, and sporting goods. Especially since we continue to hear about layoffs and plant closings day after day in the newspapers and on the radio and TV, it is clear that we must buy American in areas while there is still American left to buy.

You can help keep America strong and support good jobs, wages and benefits by supporting the companies that are profiled at www.ShopUnionMade.com. Are you a sports fanatic? How about an American-made Louisville Slugger or Wilson football? Looking to satisfy your sweet tooth? How about some Hershey chocolate or Russell Stover candies? Do you have kids on your Christmas shopping list? Then check out some of the classic American toys and games still made in America like Monopoly, Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit.

We may be living in a global economy, but that does not mean we should throw up our hands and spend our time lamenting over the jobs that have been lost. We need to spend our energy preserving the jobs we have left. American made matters. American jobs matter. American prosperity matters. So let's take these matters into our own hands and make a difference. Make your spending dollars count, because American workers are counting on people like you and me that care about America, and to keep her ship sailing.

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