industrial union

American  

noun

1. a labor union composed of workers in various trades and crafts within one industry.

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industrial union British  

noun

1. a labour organization in which all workers in a given industry are eligible for membership Compare craft union

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Etymology

Origin of industrial union

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

IG Metall, a German industrial union that has multiple seats on Schaeffler’s board, hasn’t objected to the technology.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026

Germany's leading industrial union IG Metall considers the EU's proposals "fair", a spokesperson told AFP, urging the government to "clearly defend" them.

From Barron's • Nov. 6, 2025

Without the Flint sit-down strike, it might have taken many more years to unionize General Motors and the entire industrial union movement might have failed to mature.

From Salon • Dec. 5, 2021

Although he remained an active member of the Socialist Party until 1919, Haywood appreciated the outcry of the more radical arm of the party that desired an industrial union approach to labor organization.

From Textbooks • Dec. 30, 2014

Among the many organizations of wage-earners three main types may be distinguished: the labor union, the trade union, and the industrial union, tho often they are all spoken of as trade unions without distinction.

From Modern Economic Problems Economics Volume II by Fetter, Frank Albert

Related Words

• trade union