Close up image of a caretaker helping older woman walk

Unions that split from the AFL-CIO plan to build their numbers by targeting workers in growing industries.

The Service Employees International Union will increase organizing efforts among workers in industries that include waste management, security, healthcare, food service and businesses that cater to retirees, according to SEIU President Andrew Stern. Many of these workers are immigrants and minorities without college degrees who are not paid fairly, Stern said.

“We’re talking about organizing wholesale, not retail,” Stern said. “It requires a different thinking.”

SEIU along with the Teamsters, Unite Here and United Farm Workers broke away from the AFL-CIO in July. They say they will have millions of dollars in annual fees they aren’t paying to the AFL-CIO to use in organizing their own core industries.

SEIU currently has more than 1.7 million members nationwide, including 145,000 nursing home workers.