Workers United is an American and Canadian

labor union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

which represents about 86,000 workers in the apparel, textile, commercial

laundry Laundry refers to the washing of clothing and other textiles, and, more broadly, their drying and ironing as well. Laundry has been part of history since humans began to wear clothes, so the methods by which different cultures have dealt with ...

, distribution, food service, hospitality, fitness and non-profit industries.Greenhouse, Steve
"Union Rejoining A.F.L.-C.I.O."
''New York Times.'' September 17, 2009. It was established in its current form in 2009 and is affiliated to the

Service Employees International Union Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is a labor union representing almost 1.9 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States and Canada. SEIU is focused on organizing workers in three sectors: healthcare (over half of members ...

(SEIU).

History

The union dates its origin as 1900 with the creation of the

International Ladies Garment Workers Union The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), whose members were employed in the women's clothing industry, was once one of the largest labor unions in the United States, one of the first U.S. unions to have a primarily female memb ...

and 1914 with the creation of what became the

Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union The Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) was a labor union representing workers in two related industries in the United States. The union was founded in 1976, when the Textile Workers Union of America merged with the Amalgamated ...

. The two unions merged in 1995 to become

Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees The Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UNITE, often stylized UNITE!) was a labor union in the United States. In 2004, UNITE merged with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) to form UNITE HERE. Histo ...

(UNITE), which in turn merged with Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) to form

UNITE HERE UNITE HERE is a labor union in the United States and Canada with roughly 300,000 active members. The union's members work predominantly in the hotel, food service, laundry, warehouse, and casino gaming industries. The union was formed in 2004 by ...

in 2004. However, many of the locals that had been with UNITE were dissatisfied with the UNITE HERE merger. After a lengthy and divisive internal leadership struggle within UNITE HERE, the union's then-president Bruce Raynor led 100,000 members of the union's membership (primarily in its apparel division, who had formerly been in UNITE) in disaffiliating from the national union on March 24, 2009, formed a new union called Workers United, and affiliated the union with

(SEIU). The first president of the new union was Edgar Romney, a former UNITE HERE elected official. On May 30, Bruce Raynor resigned as president of UNITE HERE, Romney resigned as president of Workers United, and Raynor was named Romney's successor.Mishak, Michael
"UNITE HERE Even More Split as Co-Leader Resigns in Huff."
''Las Vegas Sun.'' May 31, 2009. In May 2009, the ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...

'' reported that Workers United was running a deficit of $300,000 a month, the deficit was expected to widen, that SEIU had loaned the union $1 million to shore up its finances, and that Workers United was considering asking SEIU for $1.3 million a month and suspension of all dues payments in order to keep Workers United solvent.Smith, Ben
"Workers United Pleads Poverty to SEIU."
''Politico.'' May 28, 2009.Gonzalez, Juan

''New York Daily News.'' May 29, 2009. The media later reported that an internal Workers United memo admitted that membership was closer to 100,000 than 150,000 and that membership was falling as employers refused to honor contracts with the union. An SEIU official confirmed that the loan had been made. However, on July 9, 2009, the National Labor Relations Board held that Workers United was the bargaining agent for contracts at five major employers (Continental Linen Services, Premair of Cleveland, Gateway Packaging Co., Associated Hotels Duluth, and American Etc. Inc. d/b/a Royal Laundry).Ellis, Kristi
"NLRB Rules in Favor of Workers United."
''Women's Wear Daily.'' July 10, 2009. Workers United won a significant organizing victory in the U.S. apparel manufacturing industry in July 2010.Perkins, Olivera

''The Cleveland Plain Dealer.'' July 19, 2010. The workers, with the support of state politicians"Governor Announces Workers, Hugo Boss Reach Agreement to Save 375 Ohio Jobs"
''Office of the Governor''. and Hollywood stars,Lang. Brent
"Hugo Boss Memo: Glover's Oscar Boycott Worked"
''The Wrap.'' March 11, 2010. won a contract and successfully pressured the employer to keep the plant open. SEIU and UNITE HERE agreed to end their dispute on July 25, 2010. As part of the agreement, ownership of the Amalgamated Bank was transferred to Workers United.Greenhouse, Steven
"Service Unions Agree to End a Long Dispute."
''New York Times.'' July 26, 2010. UNITE HERE retained ownership of the union's headquarters in New York City and an additional $75 million in assets. The agreement also settles a jurisdictional dispute over which workers the unions will organize. UNITE HERE agreed to restrict its organizing in the food service industry to those workers at airline caterers, airports, businesses, convention centers, and athletic stadiums, while SEIU and Workers United would restrict its organizing activity in the industry to food service workers in state and local government, health care facilities, and prisons. Both unions continue to organize food service workers in elementary, middle, and secondary schools and in higher education. The two unions had also disagreed over whether several thousand members of Workers United had been given the opportunity to choose which union they wished to belong. In the new agreement, SEIU and UNITE HERE agreed to let an arbitrator decide to which union the workers wished to belong to.

References

External links

* {{Strategic Organizing Center Trade unions in the United States Trade unions established in 2009 Service Employees International Union Textile and clothing trade unions International Ladies Garment Workers Union