labor union

noun

: an organization of workers formed for the purpose of advancing its members' interests in respect to wages, benefits, and working conditions

members of a labor union with job protection under a collective bargaining agreement with the employer

—Seth Sandronsky

Examples of labor union in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Trump administration faces a lawsuit from several labor unions that have taken issue with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) pushing job cuts on probationary workers that the unions contend were done illegally. —Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 20 Feb. 2025

Federal labor union representatives also didn’t immediately respond Sunday to questions about the performance language. —Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 18 Feb. 2025

The city’s largest labor union, the Municipal Employees Association, praised the mayor’s announcement. —David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Feb. 2025

However, also on Friday, a federal court judge shot down a bid in a lawsuit by labor unions to stop Musk’s group from accessing Labor Department systems. —Ethan Baron, The Mercury News, 12 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1849, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for labor union

• antiunion
• communion
• disunion
• nonunion

Kids Definition

labor union

noun

: an organization of workers formed to protect the rights and advance the interests of its members concerning wages, benefits, and working conditions

Legal Definition

labor union

noun

: a labor organization usually consisting of workers of the same trade that is formed for the purpose of advancing its members' interests (as through collective bargaining) in respect to wages, benefits, and working conditions see also craft union, bargaining unit

Note: Labor unions and employers are subject to the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Wagner Act), as amended by the Labor Management Relations (Taft-Hartley) Act and the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure (Landrum-Griffin) Act. The NLRA authorized the establishment of the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency which administers the provisions of the Act.