The Glass Molders, Pottery, Plastics, & Allied Workers International Union (GMP), a union with a history reaching back 175 years, has found that a merger with the United Steelworkers (USW) “will give the GMP the strength, resources and ability to continue to serve its membership throughout this century and hopefully well beyond.” Last year, union leadership stated that without a merger, diminishing membership numbers “would require an immediate and dramatic dues increase,” and even then, “any downturn in our major industries or another recession could easily devastate” the union. The GMP was already an amalgam of unions formed by various mergers over the years, with a current membership of only about 25,000 members, while the USW currently boasts a membership of about 850,000.
