Posted January 10, 2025 | by KimS | in DemDaily, Democratic Party, Labor, Women

DemDaily: A ReNewed Chapter for Labor

January 10, 2025

In a landmark moment for the labor movement, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) on Wednesday announced that, after two decades, it is re-affiliating with the AFL-CIO.

In a press release, the AFL-CIO said, "We are reuniting to launch a new, long-term effort to make it easier for workers to win a voice on our jobs with their unions.

"Two million SEIU service and care workers will join the nearly 13 million-member AFL-CIO, and together, these powerful organizations will push back on union-busting and win for working-class families."

“SEIU members are ready to unleash a new era of worker power, as millions of service and care workers unite with workers at the AFL-CIO to build our unions in every industry and every ZIP code,” said SEIU International President April Verrett, who stood alongside AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler at a press conference Thursday.

The reunion comes at a pivotal point in the labor movement, and the country, as the White House transitions from history's most pro-union president to a president who is expected to roll back rights and protections for unions and working families.

The news came in advance of the AFL-CIO’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference in Austin, Texas, and less than two weeks before Trump's inauguration.

Founded in 1955, the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is labor's largest umbrella organization, representing 60 national and international labor unions comprising 12.5 million members.

Founded in 1955, the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is labor's largest umbrella organization, representing 60 national and international labor unions comprising 12.5 million members.

The second largest union in the country, SEIU representing workers in the health care, janitorial, food and public services sectors -- over 100 occupations in the United States and Canada.

One of the most progressive and powerful unions, SEIU also brings to the table a sophisticated political and ground operation and considerable financial resources.

The AFL-CIO engages substantially in political engagement and spending in support of pro-labor policies and campaigns. In 2024, labor unions spent hundreds of millions directly and through outside organizations on the elections.

One of the critical voting blocks in any election, labor remains the backbone of electoral organizing and provides the bulk of ground troops in both congressional and presidential elections.

The BreakUp
In 2005, in the largest schism in labor's ranks since 1930 -- following a prolonged and intense internal debate over the future of the labor movement and a call for major reorganization and reform -- some of the AFL-CIO's largest unions disaffiliated and formed the Change to Win Federation (CtW).

At a July 24 press conference, made during the AFL-CIO's 50th anniversary convention in Chicago, SEIU President Andy Stern said, "Our goal is not to divide the labor movement but to rebuild it."

Stern and Teamsters President James P. Hoffa, who led the defection, were joined by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) and their president, Joe Hansen.

UNITE HERE and the United Farm Workers (UFW) subsequently disaffiliated and joined CtW, as did the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) in June 2006. They were also joined by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, which was not affiliated with the AFL.

In January 2009, under pressure from the Obama administration, the AFL-CIO and CtW leaders met to discuss the issues, a path forward to reunification, and who would lead any reunited federation.

Over the next five years, a majority of members of CtW, now the Strategic Organizing Center (SOC), re-affiliated with the AFL-CIO.

The largest unions currently in the AFL-CIO are the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), with approximately 1.7 million members; the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), with approximately 1.5 million members; and the United Food and Commercial Workers with 1.3 million members. The National Education Association, which is not affiliated with the AFL-CIO, boasts 3 million members.

The largest unions currently in the AFL-CIO are the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), with approximately 1.7 million members; the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), with approximately 1.5 million members; and the United Food and Commercial Workers with 1.3 million members. The National Education Association, which is not affiliated with the AFL-CIO, boasts 3 million members.

Five-term AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, who announced his retirement in August 2009, was succeeded by Richard Trumka, the then widely respected AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer, who remained unchallenged through his death of a heart attack in July 2021.

Shuler, then AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer and Trumka's longtime running mate, was elevated to President and, in June 2022, was elected by the membership to a full four-year term - the first woman to lead the nation's labor movement.

Over the last three years, Shuler has guided the AFL-CIO through the monumental impact on the labor market in the wake of the coronavirus and the supply chain crisis, the subsequent surge in organizing by an emboldened new generation of workers, unprecedented strike actions, and a historic presidential campaign that divided their membership -- now at just 11.3% of the country's workforce.

The new partnership between SEIU, led by Verrett, who was elected president in May, and the AFL-CIO under Shuler, is another turning point and necessary step toward a united labor movement. With two women at the table, anything is possible.

An August 1-20, 2024 Gallup poll showed a record 7 in 10 Americans approve of unions, including 9 in 10 young people. In addition, an estimated 60 million Americans say they’d join a union tomorrow if the laws allowed them to organize.

DemList will keep you informed.