Labor union is an organization that brings together workers, often from a particular trade (kind of work) or industry, to promote better job conditions. Unions sometimes engage in political activity to reform labor laws, increase the minimum wage, and elect politicians considered to be favorable to union interests. Other tools used by unions include collective bargaining, the grievance process, and strikes. During collective bargaining, a union negotiates with an employer on behalf of all its members about such issues as wages, hours, benefits, and working conditions. With the grievance process, a complaint filed against an employer is formally considered and reviewed. Hearings may also be held concerning grievances. During a strike, employees stop work to disrupt a company’s production of goods or services.
Labor unions first emerged in the 1700’s. However, other forms of worker organizations existed much earlier. One earlier type of worker organization in Europe was the mutual aid society. As early as the 1500’s, some mutual aid societies were organized around a specific trade and provided their members with health, unemployment, and funeral benefits.
Early unions were referred to as trade unions because they were formed around the trade done by members. While the term trade union is still used in many parts of the world, as production shifted from small groups of craftworkers to large groups of unskilled or semiskilled workers, the term labor union became more common in the United States. Labor unions reached their peak in the United States during the 1950’s and 1960’s, when as many as 35 percent of workers were union members.
In many parts of the world, unions today are in decline because of the changing nature of work. In the United States, this change has involved the loss of manufacturing jobs. Yet, there remains significant variation in membership rates among countries. By the early 2020’s, around 10 percent of the work force in the United States belonged to unions. In Sweden, about 65 percent of employees were union members. Unions remain strong and active in many countries, including Brazil, South Africa, and South Korea.
See also Labor movement; Strike.
