Don't use a UILabel.
Use a UIBarButtonItem. Then set it to style: plain. It looks like a label, but it actually borderless button. This is the general practice of displaying text on a bar.
You can also create UIBarButtonItem with a custom view in code. You are simple "wrapping" the UILabel in a UIBarButtonItem allowing you to add anything you want to a tool bar.
To add in response to comment:
Either way, you make the button "inactive" and it doesn't respond to touches. Even though it is a button, it doesn't appear to be one. This is how Apple expects to add views to a toolbar/navbar as apposed to "float things on top of it". It violates no HIG guidelines, much the opposite, it is a reccomended design technique.
To stop the glow:
Create the button programmatically, make sure it is disabled, add it to the bar, it should then be disabled, but not dim.