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.

---

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.

---

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

An energized Mayor Karen Bass galvanized crowds of labor union workers sporting union merch Saturday.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026

“Additionally, today, him being here at a labor union and advocating for the working class and labor, I think, is very important.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 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

Despite Marx & Haas Clothing Company’s concessions to the labor union, the workrooms were crowded and the air was filthy.

From "Fannie Never Flinched" by Mary Cronk Farrell

Related Words

• trade union