The power of trade unions is under threat. Membership dwindles and labour rights are subverted. Trade unions in Nigeria attempt to boost their power and numbers by linking up with the vast majority in the informal economy. Nigeria’s textile industry is in steep decline. Can the once powerful textile union recover its strength by linking up with the tailors? Can they jointly challenge the neoliberal order? This article discusses the scope for advancing broader national goals, including democratization and making the state more responsive to economic and political needs. In conclusion, it raises issues of wider alliances. It sees organising in the informal economy and alliances across the formal-informal divide as critical to the reorientation of the national economy.