SEIU Rejoins AFL-CIO After 20-Year Separation, Boosting Membership to 15 Million Ahead of Trump Inauguration

Jan 9, 2025, 12:17 AM

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has announced its decision to rejoin the AFL-CIO after a 20-year separation, bringing the total membership of the labor federation to nearly 15 million workers. The move, approved unanimously by the executive boards of both unions, aims to strengthen the labor movement's ability to help workers overcome legal challenges to organize and join unions. The announcement comes just days before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, though union leaders emphasized that the decision was not politically motivated. SEIU, representing about 2 million workers in sectors such as health care, janitorial, and food services, left the AFL-CIO in 2005 alongside the Teamsters union due to dissatisfaction with the federation's efforts to stem the decline in union membership. AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and SEIU President April Verrett stated that their goal is to build worker power and stand against attacks on workers, immigrants, and health care workers. The AFL-CIO, composed of 60 unions, believes that 60 million workers would join a union if they could. The unions plan to formally announce the affiliation at a roundtable discussion in Austin, Texas, on January 9, 2025.