Labor union

A labor union is an organization through which workers act collectively to negotiate wages, working conditions, and employment terms with employers.

Collective bargaining: Negotiation between workers’ representatives and employers over employment terms and working conditions. Unions use it to negotiate agreements that apply to represented workers.
Labor law: The body of law governing employment relationships, worker rights, and labor organizations. It sets the legal framework within which unions organize and bargain.
Trade union: An organization of workers formed to advance shared interests in employment. The term is widely used for labor unions, especially outside the United States.
Craft unionism: Union organization based on a particular skilled trade or occupation. It contrasts with organizing workers across an entire industry.
Collective agreement: A negotiated contract setting employment terms for a group of workers. It records the terms a union wins through collective bargaining.
Union representation: Representation of workers by a union in dealings with an employer. It is the central relationship that gives a union its workplace role.
Industrial Revolution: The transformation from predominantly agrarian economies to mechanized industry beginning in the eighteenth century. Industrial workplaces concentrated workers and helped spur organized labor.
Industrial unionism: Union organization that brings workers from different occupations within an industry together. It represents a broader organizing strategy than craft-based membership.
Strike: A coordinated work stoppage used by workers to press demands or protest employer actions. Withholding labor can strengthen a union’s bargaining position.
Union membership: Formal affiliation of a worker with a labor union, often involving dues and member rights. Membership provides the people and resources that sustain collective action.

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