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

Johnny Jones, the leader of the labor union that represents TSA officers, said Thursday that the agency created a list of about 75 airports that could be closed to free up officers to send to major hubs with long security wait times. —ABC News, 26 Mar. 2026

The labor union, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, plans to urge a similar resolution at AFL-CIO’s convention in Minneapolis this summer and at conventions held by other organizations, including the NAACP and LULAC, AFT President Randi Weingarten said. —Melissa Repko, CNBC, 26 Mar. 2026

The president of a labor union representing Transportation Security Administration employees is lashing out at lawmakers, telling them not to leave Washington, DC, for Easter recess before passing a deal to pay its agents amid the ongoing partial government shutdown. —Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 25 Mar. 2026

That includes donations from the labor union for air traffic controllers, whose jobs are not impacted by this partial shutdown but who understand the strain of working without pay from full government closures. —Arkansas Online, 23 Mar. 2026

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.