Twelve unions met in Washington, D.C., last week, and announced they’re considering rejoining the two labor federations, the American Federation of Labor/Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and Change to Win (CTW). The two had split apart five years ago.

The initiative came from the incoming Obama administration, which told union leaders it didn’t relish the idea of dealing with competing union agendas.

Many progressive labor activists greeted the idea with a sigh of relief. “Dividing the labor movement was never a good idea to begin with,” says Bill Fletcher, former education director for the AFL-CIO and now director of field services for the American Federation of Government Employees. continue reading