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“Swag” Has Its Critics, But It’s
Here To Stay
In January, Lake Superior State University
added “swag” to its 40th annual List of
Banished Words from the Queen’s English
for Mis-use, Over-use and General
Uselessness. For some in the promotional
products industry, the word is painful to
hear, but it’s difficult to discount its
entrenched place in the field.
Whether we like it or not, the term
“swag” is a very hot item right now in
promotional circles within the end-user
community. That’s a fact. Google “swag
products” and see what happens. Talk to
almost anyone under the age of 35 who
is not in our industry and orders pro-
motional materials and ask them what
they call promo items internally. You
will be shocked to see how common
“swag” is.
Jim Franklyn
Vice President Of Sales And Marketing
InkHead
Winder, Georgia
UPIC: InkHead
The Wider Consequences Of A
West Coast Port Shutdown
In May 2014, the International Longshore
and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the
Pacific Maritime Association (PMA)
entered into negotiations for a new con-
tract for the 13,600 dockworkers the
ILWU represented at ports stretching from
San Diego, California, to Bellingham,
Washington. Unable to find common
ground, the two sides asked for federal
mediators in January 2015 to join the dis-
cussion and help them find a resolution.
In the labor negotiations between
the ILWU and the PMA, I see dark
images from the past, going back to the
early 1970s when there was a total West
Coast dock strike that lasted several
months. I was living in Hawaii and about
two years earlier had started a company.
When the ILWU shut down the West
Coast ports, Hawaii was thrown into a
major business “black hole.”
“Mainlanders” had little, if any,
knowledge of the strike, much less what
it meant to the 50th state in the Union.
Grocery store shelves began to empty,
hotels were shutting down floors of
rooms, many restaurants just put a sign
on their front door and said they would
re-open after the strike was over. We
were even rationing gas. Some businesses
closed their doors for good.
We did get some ships from Asia or
the East Coast, coming through the
Panama Canal, but not enough was
reaching us to keep the stores, businesses,
8 •
PPB
• FEBRUARY 2015
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