open shop

noun

: an establishment in which eligibility for employment and retention on the payroll are not determined by membership or nonmembership in a labor union though there may be an agreement by which a union is recognized as sole bargaining agent

Examples of open shop in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The company plans to open shops in Raleigh, Greenville and Durham within the next year and a half. —Shannon Greene, Charlotte Observer, 28 May 2024

At one time, Campa had high ambitions to expand his brand to multiple cities via a franchising group that six years ago was hoping to open shops in Temecula, Scottsdale, Riverside, Pasadena, North Hollywood/Burbank, Tucson, Sacramento and Anaheim. —Lori Weisberg, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2024

Retailers tend to be reluctant to open shop in areas with fewer homes and less accessible roads. —Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Mar. 2024

The latter could influence cost-benefit analyses of companies looking to open shop in Arizona. —Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 8 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1903, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

open shop

noun

: an establishment in which eligibility for employment and retention on the payroll are not determined by membership or nonmembership in a labor union though there may be an agreement by which a union is recognized as sole bargaining agent

called also merit shop

compare agency shop, closed shop, union shop