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 the merger of Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UNITE) and Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE). In 2005, UNITE HERE withdrew from the AFLCIO and joined the Change to Win Federation, along with several other unions, including the Teamsters, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the UFCW. In May 2009, union president Bruce Raynor (originally from UNITE) left UNITE HERE, taking with him numerous local unions and between 105,000 and 150,000 members, mostly garment workers and a labor-owned bank, Amalgamated Bank. They formed a new SEIU affiliate called Workers United. On September 17, 2009, UNITE HERE announced that it would re-affiliate with the AFLCIO.