What is the Workers Union called?

1. Career development
2. 7 Types of Unions and How They Work

By Indeed Editorial Team

Updated March 29, 2021 | Published February 8, 2021

Updated March 29, 2021

Published February 8, 2021

Since the 18th century, American employees have found support, protection and guidance from unions. There are a variety of union types that make industry, wage and workplace changes. If you're interested in finding a job within a unionized field, you can benefit from knowing the types of unions and how they work. In this article, we provide an in-depth look at unions by explaining seven different types of unions and how they work.

What are unions?

Unions are organizations dedicated to protecting the interests of people in the workplace. The basis for forming this type of group often relates to industry, job type, special skills or special interests. Unions use their large numbers, industry knowledge and social influence to improve wages, benefits and working conditions for their members.

The most common tool that unions use to better overall work conditions is called collective bargaining. This is a negotiation process that occurs between a group of employers and their employees. The union gathers information about work conditions and other employee concerns from their members, and then union leaders bargain on their behalf.

Read more: What Is a Union?

Leadership roles in a union

Here is a list of typical positions of leadership within a union:

• President: A union president is an elected official who oversees the mission and goals of the organization.

• Vice president: The vice president of a union is an elected official who helps oversee the mission and goals of the union.

• Secretary: Secretaries are elected officials who manage and record accounts of all union-related meetings.

• Treasurer: This elected official oversees and reports on the fiscal affairs of the organization.

• Executive council member: Executive council members are elected union officials who hold various positions within the organization. They vote and make decisions regarding initiatives, goals and platforms during council meetings.

• Steward: A union steward is a representative and member of a union. This person directly represents other employees within a section or sector of a larger union. People in this position give council, support and advocacy to other group members.

The history of American unions

There have been unions in the United States for over 200 years. The practice of organizing workers was controversial in early American history. Protections for union activists were often limited, with unions regularly facing resistance from employers and government agencies. The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 gave all people the ability to form unions. This process became commonplace in many industries after President John F. Kennedy issued an executive order in 1962 allowing unions the right to collective bargaining.

Careers and industries with unions

Here are some of the most common industries where unions are regularly in place to protect the interests of their members:

• Skilled trades: Skilled trade and labor jobs include electricians, plumbers, mechanics, carpenters, bricklayers and pipefitters.

• Construction: Jobs in construction include sheet metal workers, ironworkers and painters.

• Manufacturing: Manufacturing jobs include engineers, industrial managers, technicians and machine operators.

• Health care: Jobs in health care include doctors, nurses, care representatives, attendants and technicians.

• Education: Jobs in education include teachers, assistant teachers, special education teachers, advisors, guidance counselors and aids.

• Government: Government jobs include administrators, agents, analysts and officers.

• Transportation: Jobs in transportation include drivers, engineers, conductors and machine operators.

• Public sector: Jobs in the public sector include firefighters, police officers and social workers.

Related: 5 Ways To Secure a Union Job

Seven types of unions

Here are seven different types of unions that have been prevalent in the United States throughout the last 200 years:

Craft union

A craft union is an organized group of laborers who have careers in the same craft or trade. People in unions of this type regularly hold the same job or work within the same industry. Other times, craft unions form when members all have a special skill or ability.

Craft unions became popular in the United States prior to the Industrial Revolution. This model stood to protect people whose work involved completing trade-related tasks. The work of these unions prevented perpetual unemployment and built a foundation for members to earn fair wages and benefits. Unions accomplished this by creating apprentice programs and limiting job market access to union members only.

Here is a list of seven craft unions that are active today:

1. United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America

2. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

3. Laborers' International Union of North America

4. American Nurses Association

5. National Football League Players Association

6. International Union of Painters and Allied Trades

7. Operative Plasterers' and Cement Mason's International Association

Related: How To Find an Apprenticeship Program

Industrial union

Industrial unions are organizations made up of people who all work within the same industry or type of industry service. These unions usually correlate with one sector within the economy, and they encompass all people working within an industry. Many times industrial unions engage in contract negotiations that span across multiple employers within an industry—this is called sectional bargaining and is unique to industrial unions.

The vast membership within industrial unions strengthens their bargaining power. They are well-known for reshaping entire industries and improving health and safety conditions within the workplace.

Here is a list of nine industrial unions that are active today:

1. International Union of Operating Engineers

2. International Brotherhood of Teamsters

3. International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers

4. United Mine Workers

5. International Longshore and Warehouse Union

6. Unite Here

7. Communications Workers of America

8. United Steel Workers

9. United Food and Commercial Workers International Union

Related: Types of Trades Within the Construction Industry

Public service union

A public service union is an organized group of people who have careers that serve the general population. These unions usually represent those with the same or similar job type within a specific public service industry. Membership in these groups is often voluntary but highly encouraged. They often represent public service jobs within small sectors, regions or institutions, which means the collective bargaining agreements made do not alter conditions in an entire industry.

Here are six public service unions that are active today:

1. National Education Association

2. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees

3. American Postal Workers Union

4. National Postal Mail Handlers

5. National Association of Police Organizations

6. International Association of Firefighters

Related: How To Become a Teacher

Federations

A federation is an organized group of one or more unions. They provide a range of services and supports to unions within the federation or association, and can offer additional protections and benefits to their members.

Here is a list of three active federations in the United States:

1. National Association of Manufacturers

2. American Federation of Teachers

3. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations

Uplift union

Uplift unions, also known as friendly unions, were organizations that used collective bargaining to serve the social and emotional well-being of their members. Uplift unions were popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and they aimed to improve work conditions related to the quality of life, intellectualism and morality. Two examples of groups or unions like this that had influence in the late 1800s and early 1900s are the Knights of Labor and the Order of the Eastern Star.

Identity-exclusive union

An identity-exclusive union is an organized group of people who share a common social, cultural or religious identity. Similar to labor unions, these groups work to provide fair wages, compensation and protections for their members. The small membership within identity-exclusive unions sometimes reduces their bargaining power. This has led to a rise in identity-exclusive organizations that often work with labor unions to improve fairness in the workplace.

Enterprise union

An enterprise union is a collective bargaining organization that exists within a single company or enterprise. These unions are most common in countries like Japan and China, and they focus on providing employees with job stability and improvements in employer relationships. Due to the employer-centered nature of this type of organization, the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 banned the practice of enterprise unions in the United States.