People have always joined together—whether in community organizations, church groups, parent teacher associations, or neighborhood watches—to make positive changes in each other’s lives and find solutions to problems that would be difficult or impossible to tackle alone. Through unions, people come together to make improvements at the place where most spend the largest portion of their waking hours: at their work.

Like the right to free speech or the right to assembly, the freedom of workers to join together in a union and negotiate with their employer as an equal partner with a shared stake in the success of the business (a process referred to as “collective bargaining”) is protected by the U.S. Constitution and U.S. law. Supported by a majority of Americans, around the world the right to join a union is considered an essential human right as it is recognized as one of the best ways to bring democracy, fairness, and justice to the workplace.  

Over 16 million working women and men in the United States are exercising their rights as union members—with 1.3 million of those choosing to belong to the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). We are proud to be the largest private sector union in the United States, with a rich and diverse membership that spans across all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico and Canada.  

Labor unions are 501(c)(5) nonprofit organizations. With more than one in nine workers in the US belonging to a union, organized labor today is one of the largest institutions in the country, and the economic health of the working and middle class is tied to the strength and energy of our movement. Together, we believe that through collective action and a dedication to achieving real, tangible progress, we can uplift the lives of everyday people and build a better life for our members and all working people.