UNITE HERE is a labor union in the United States and Canada with roughly 300,000 active members.
On September 17, 2009, UNITE HERE announced that it would re-affiliate with the AFL–CIO.
History
Bruce Raynor, then president of UNITE, and John W. Wilhelm of HERE became close friends after meeting on a HERE picket line at Yale University in 2003. The impetus for the merger was that UNITE was wealthy but losing a significant number of members, while HERE had little cash but had a large number of organizing opportunities which could lead to hundreds of thousands of new members.
In 2005, UNITE HERE withdrew from the AFL–CIO and joined the Change to Win Federation, along with several other unions, including the Laborers' International Union of North America, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Service Employees International Union, United Farm Workers, and United Food and Commercial Workers. UNITE HERE Vice-President Edgar Romney was elected the first secretary-treasurer of the new labor federation.
Split and reaffiliation with AFL–CIO
The merger of UNITE and HERE faced initial difficulties due to disagreements between its leaders. By 2007, Raynor was accusing Wilhelm of stifling change, and Wilhelm was angry at Raynor's "heavy-handed" managerial style. In late 2008, General President Bruce Raynor and 15 local and regional UNITE HERE affiliates in the laundry and garment industries filed lawsuits against Hospitality Division President John Wilhelm, accusing him and his division of fraud, theft, gross mismanagement of $61 million in funds committed to union organizing drives, and failing to resolve members' grievances. Raynor also accused Wilhelm and his allies of attempting to impose their will on the executive board and the majority of members. and dual unionism for continuing to press for the disaffiliation of the garment division affiliates after the UNITE HERE executive board had voted down the proposal. Workers United immediately affiliated with SEIU. Joseph T. Hansen, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), attempted to mediate a solution in mid-April, proposing (among other things) that UNITE HERE take jurisdiction over workers in the gaming industry and hotels; that Workers United take jurisdiction over workers in textiles and laundries; and that the two unions split organizing in food service. American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten urged the sides to settle as well, writing a letter to both Raynor and Wilhelm cautioning that "This conflict is causing collateral damage. ... The longer it continues, the less likely we are to enact a strong Employee Free Choice Act."
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