UNITE (the apparel, laundry, and distribution workers’ union) and HERE (the hospitality and tourism union) have agreed to merge.
Both unions have been outspokenly in favor of restructuring the union movement to give working people more power to take on corporations in today’s economy.
What’s important about this alliance is that it matches a union whose main industry (apparel manufacturing) almost doesn’t exist anymore in North America with a union in a sector of the economy (hotels, restaurants, and tourism) that is growing and adding jobs.
While UNITE has lost most of its membership to outsourcing, it still has a lot of resources. HERE is powerful in some cities (especially in Las Vegas), but doesn’t have a lot of money to spend on campaigns to reach out to employees in the vast nonunion parts of the industry.
This is a good sign for rebuilding the union movement.
UPDATE 3/1: Harold Meyerson looks at the merger in a web piece for the American Prospect.
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