UNITE HERE hopes to increase its membership by one-third, to 400,000 members, by 2024, according to Bloomberg Law.
UNITE HERE represents employees in the hotel, gaming, food service, airport, textile, manufacturing, distribution, laundry, transport, and other industries. With approximately 300,000 members and a well-publicized history of strikes and demonstrations, it is widely recognized as one of the most aggressive and combative unions in the country.
Although such an increase in membership is ambitious, UNITE HERE has met similar goals in the past. It announced at the union’s 2014 constitutional convention that it would add 50,000 employees by its 2019 convention. UNITE HERE added 62,000 employees during that five-year period.
UNITE HERE stated it would increase focus on southern states with traditionally lower unionization rates in order to reach its 100,000-member goal. It also pledged to support more members in elections for political office.
As UNITE HERE and other unions continue to gain political strength and organize aggressively throughout the country, it is increasingly important for employers to educate supervisors about their rights and responsibilities in response to organizing. Jackson Lewis attorneys are available to advise employers in such legal matters, and on how employers can create an environment where employees feel well-treated and see no need for union representation.