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One Trump positive: US unions reunite
The looming Trump presidency has forced unions to rebuild their unity and strength, writes TONY BURKE, as the SEIU returns to the AFL-CIO, healing the 2005 rift over organising priorities and getting ready to fight the right together
(Right to left) Service Employees International Union international president April Verrett; AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler; National Domestic Workers Alliance president Ai-Jen Poo and SEIU secretary-treasurer Rocio Saenz (Photo: AFL-CIO)

TWENTY years ago the US union the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) ended its affiliation with the US trade union umbrella organisation the AFL-CIO following ongoing disagreements that the AFL-CIO was concentrating too much on political matters rather than organising new members and building workers’ power in new industries.

The SEIU, under the leadership of the charismatic Andy Stern, argued US trade unions had to become more than just “servicing unions” watching membership and union power continue to decline.

The SEIU had run a number of high-profile organising campaigns in the US, notably Justice For Janitors, building union membership among property maintenance workers.

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