ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – Sara Dorner from Rockford United Labor carries a slogan through her union efforts.

“In the labor movement, we always say, ‘The people united will never be defeated,’” she says.

Dorner serves as Rockford United Labor’s president – a local labor council of the AFL-CIO representing more than 25,000 workers around the Greater Rockford Area. She expects that number to climb.

On Jan. 8, AFL-CIO announced a reunification with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). In 2005, the union representing service and care workers split from the labor federation comprised of 60 national and international unions.

The decision to reunite was months in the making, according to Dorner.

“We’ve realized there’s definitely a benefit in coming together,” she explains. “Working people are under attack constantly by exploitative interests.”

By joining forces, SEIU brings 2 million workers to AFL-CIO; around 15 million workers will fall under the combined labor group’s umbrella.

“Workers are organizing in Starbucks and all over the place,” says Greg Kelley – SEIU Illinois’s president. He describes an evolving economy as a motivating factor to reconvene.

In past decades, the “typical” union worker may have worn a hard hat or worked at a manufacturing site. To Kelley, the modern union member can work anywhere – producing a wide array of products or services.

He points to “fresh” unionization efforts and tactics at Uber and Starbucks as “ways forward” to grow membership.

“Those are the kind of workers and workforce that’s going to continue to grow in this country,” argues Kelley.

Dorner adds her appreciation for SEIU’s “grassroots” outreach. She looks at the union’s “Fight for $15″ campaign as inspiration for local organizations.

“We have a lot of workers forming unions for the first time in our region, and I think SEIU will kind of bring that push,” she claims.

Ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to Washington, each union leader holds their breath for where labor policies may head.

Dorner waits for “substantive” solidary from Trump – who shared his appreciation for union voters at a press conference on Jan. 10. Kelley offers an understanding: his members (and those with United Auto Workers or Teamsters) may have voted for the Republican.

Still, the SEIU leader stresses solidarity – in Illinois and beyond – as the best option for workers. Kelley asserts he already feels a difference in labor’s power since the reunifying with AFL-CIO.

“It has made so much of a difference in thinking about what the labor movement looks like going forward,” he states.

Dorner says Rockford United Labor soon will “dig into” what reunification looks like at the local level.

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