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AFL-CIO Draws Breakaway Union Back Into the Fold

A breakaway union that joined a rival labor federation four years ago is returning to the AFL-CIO.

The Laborers’ International Union of North America announced Sunday that it will leave Change to Win and reaffiliate with the nation’s largest labor federation.

“Now more than ever, working people and our country need a united union movement,” LIUNA President Terry O’Sullivan said in a statement. “Despite the historic success of the 2008 federal elections, too much is not getting done on Capitol Hill. A united union movement can better focus Congress — and particularly the U.S. Senate — on helping to lead our nation, rather than being locked in inaction.”

LIUNA’s return appears to be a major coup for new AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who’s been on the job for less than a year. A key plank of Trumka’s 2009 campaign was assurances that he would entice LIUNA, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Service Employees International Union to return to the AFL-CIO fold.

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