labor union

American  

noun

• labor unions
  plural

1. an organization of wage earners or salaried employees for mutual aid and protection and for dealing collectively with employers; trade union.

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labor union Cultural  

1. An organization of workers formed to promote collective bargaining with employers over wages, hours, fringe benefits, job security, and working conditions.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• labor unions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of labor union

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

labor union

But my family’s health insurance, supplied by their labor union, wouldn’t cover care at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, where I had 33 radiation treatments.

From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026

"Around 10:00 pm on May 19, the labor union agreed to the mediation proposal put forward by the National Labor Relations Commission; however, management expressed its refusal," it said in a statement earlier Wednesday.

From Barron's ● May 20, 2026

Samsung Electronics’ 005930 1.52%increase; green up pointing triangle talks with its labor union failed to reach an agreement over how the company’s massive profits are distributed, raising the likelihood of a strike next week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026

Richard Barrera, 59, is a longtime school board member in San Diego Unified, the state’s second-largest school system, a senior advisor to Thurmond and before that was a local labor union executive.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

But mine managers refused to acknowledge that the miners had the right to join a labor union.

From "Fannie Never Flinched" by Mary Cronk Farrell

Related Words

• trade union