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

The broad debate over AI actors à la Xocoia’s Tilly Norwood continues as Hollywood labor unions fight for control over their members’ NILs, as they’re known, in generative AI models. —Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 12 Dec. 2025

Corning values its long-standing partnership with labor unions like USW and respects employees’ choices on union representation, the company said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer. —Charlotte Observer, 10 Dec. 2025

In France, the CGT labor union at luxury giant LVMH's champagne units urged workers to join a strike this Thursday in a bid to secure year-end bonuses. —Chloe Taylor,holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 10 Dec. 2025

Benny Boscio, president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, a labor union representing correction officers, is one of the multiple people who have spoken out against the choice. —Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025

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.