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

South Korean auto maker Hyundai Motor reached a tentative wage agreement with its labor union, ending months of walkouts that have disrupted production.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Hyundai Motor 005380 -0.12%decrease; red down pointing triangle has reached a tentative wage agreement with its labor union, ending months of on-and-off walkouts that have disrupted production.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

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

To bring in a new labor union, however small, in what he hoped would be his future constituency, would be an excellent beginning for a journey to the Legislative Assembly.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

Related Words

• trade union