The union represents workers in a diverse range of sectors, including iron and steel, justice and custodial, domestic appliance manufacturing, textiles and footwear, road transport, betting, the third sector, education and early years as well as the self-employed.

When Community was formed from the merger of KFAT and the ISTC in 2004 it was arranged for the first new member of the newly constituted union to be the then UK Chancellor of the Exchequer (and future Prime Minister), Gordon Brown.

However the decline of British manufacturing jobs in these industries led the union to diversify its membership merging with the National League of the Blind and Disabled (NLBD) in 1999 and the Power Loom Carpet Weavers and Textile Workers Union (PLCWTWU) in 2000.

In 2008 the membership of the British Union of Social Work Employees voted in favour of a transfer of engagements to Community.

Their merger with Community in 2008 brought BUSWE members back into a TUC affiliated union.

The Staff Union West Bromwich Building Society, with around 500 members, merged into Community in February 2018.

The regions are: The Sections are: Community is governed by the national executive council NEC of 21 members and the general secretary.

The day-to-day business of the union is conducted by the general secretary and the staff of the head office in London and by the Member Service Centre based in Kidderminster.