Unions exist to represent the interests of workers, who form the membership. Under US labor law, the National Labor Relations Act 1935 is the primary statute which gives US unions rights. The rights of members are governed by the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act 1959. List Below
Name | est. | Members (approx) | Description | Constitution | Website |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Education Association (NAE) | 1857 | 3,000,000+ | Public school employees including but not limited to teachers, Education Support Professionals, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, guidance counselors, nurses, administrative assistants, secretaries, psychologists, and librarians. | 2019 | NEA |
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) | 1921 | 1,901,161 [1] | RNs, professional, technical and non-professional health care workers; public employees; janitorial and security employees. | 2012 | SEIU |
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) | 1932 | 1,459,511 | Employees of state, county, and municipal governments. | 2012 | AFSCME |
Teamsters | 1903 | 1,400,000 | Full name: International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Truck drivers; warehouse workers; miscellaneous trades. | 2016 | Teamsters |
United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) | 1979 | 1,300,000 | Retail store and distribution employees. | 2008 | UFCW |
United Auto Workers (UAW) | 1935 | 990,000 | Full name: International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America. Automobile, truck, farm equipment, and construction equipment manufacturing workers. | 2010 | UAW |
United Steelworkers (US) | 1942 | 860,264 [2] | Steel mill workers; related trades. | USW | |
American Federation of Teachers (AFT) | 1916 | 1,700,000 [3] | Public school teachers, RNs, professional, technical and non-professional health care workers. | 2022 | AFT |
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) | 1891 | 820,000 | Electrical manufacturing workers; electric utility workers. | 2012 | IBEW |
Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) | 1903 | 669,772 | Miscellaneous construction workers; other trades. | 2022 | LIUNA |
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) | 1888 | 653,781 | Aircraft manufacturing workers; aircraft maintenance and repair workers. | 2017 | IAM |
Communications Workers of America (CWA) | 1947 | 545,638 | Telecommunication, customer service, broadcasting, public sector, healthcare and other workers. | 2013 | CWA |
United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBCJA) | 1881 | 522,416 | Building industry carpenters and millwrights. | 2015 | UBC |
International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) | 1937 | 424,579 | Freight handlers at ports. | 2016 | ILWU |
International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) | 1896 | 392,584 | Operators of construction equipment; stationary engineers. | 2015 | IUOE |
United Association (UA) | 1889 | 324,043 | Full name: United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing, Pipefitting and Sprinkler Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada. | 2021 | UA |
National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) | 1889 | 292,221 | United States Postal Service mail delivery workers in urban areas. | 2016 | NALC |
American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) | 1932 | 289,023 | Miscellaneous U.S. federal government workers. | 2012 | AFGE |
American Postal Workers Union (APWA) | 1971 | 286,700 | United States Postal Service workers other than letter carriers. | APWU | |
International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) | 1918 | 331,003 | Professional firefighters and emergency medical service workers. | 2021 | IAFF |
UNITE HERE | 2004 | 301,886 [4] | Hotel, casino, restaurant, and commercial food service workers and garment manufacturing employees. Formerly UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees) and HERE, merged in 2004. | 2024 | UNITE HERE |
National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU) | 1912 | 269,204 | A division of LIUNA. United States Postal Service workers other than letter carriers. | 2022 | NPMHU |
Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) | 1892 | 190,000 | Mass transit service workers. | 2022 | ATU |
American Nurses Association (ANU) | 1897 | 152,294 | Professional association for registered nurses. | ANA | |
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) | 1893 | 160,000[ citation needed ] | Non-performing entertainment workers in Theater, Motion Picture & Television, & Trade Shows | IATSE | |
International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (IASMARTW) | 1888 | 148,806 | SMART | ||
International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) | 1887 | 127,278 | Construction-industry painters, glaziers, drywall finishers, sign & display workers. | 2020 | IUPAT |
International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental, and Reinforcing Iron Workers (IABSORIW) | 1896 | 125,437 | 2021 | IW | |
Transport Workers Union of America (TWUA) | 1934 | 125,398 | Mass transit, railroad, and airline workers. | 2017 | TWU |
Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) | 1945 | 105,000 | White-collar workers in the public and private sector. | OPEIU | |
National Rural Letter Carriers' Association (NRLCU) | 1903 | 104,717 | United States Postal Service mail delivery workers in rural areas. | 2017 | NRLCA |
This is a list of AFL–CIO affiliated member unions:
Name | Year established | Affiliation | League(s) |
---|---|---|---|
National Basketball Players Association | 1954 | Independent | National Basketball Association |
National Football League Players Association | 1956 | AFL-CIO | National Football League |
Major League Baseball Players Association | 1966 | Independent | Major League Baseball |
National Hockey League Players Association | 1967 | Independent | National Hockey League |
Professional Hockey Players' Association | 1967 | Independent | American Hockey League ECHL |
Professional Lacrosse Players' Association | 1991 | Independent | National Lacrosse League |
MLS Players Association | 2003 | Independent | Major League Soccer |
Women's National Basketball Players Association | 1998 | Independent | Women's National Basketball Association |
National Women's Soccer League Players Association | 2015 | Independent | National Women's Soccer League |
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) is the largest communications and media labor union in the United States, representing about 700,000 members in both the private and public sectors. The union has 27 locals in Canada via CWA-SCA Canada representing about 8,000 members. CWA has several affiliated subsidiary labor unions bringing total membership to over 700,000. CWA is headquartered in Washington, DC, and affiliated with the AFL–CIO, the Strategic Organizing Center, the Canadian Labour Congress, and UNI Global Union.
The Atomic Trades and Labor Council (ATLC) is a labor union umbrella organization, affiliated with the Metal Trades Department of the AFL–CIO, that serves as the bargaining unit representing about 2,100 workers employed by U.S. Department of Energy contractors at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
The following is a timeline of labor history, organizing & conflicts, from the early 1600s to present.
The National Association of Government Employees (NAGE) is a registered labor union with the United States Department of Labor representing approximately 43,000 members in the United States of America. NAGE represents a variety of workers including state and federal government employees, municipal employees, registered nurses, EMS professionals including EMTs and paramedics, firefighters, law enforcement professionals including police and correctional officers and military air technicians. NAGE is an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
The International Typographical Union (ITU) was a North American trade union for the printing trade of newspapers and other media. It was founded on May 3, 1852, in the United States as the National Typographical Union. It changed its name to the International Typographical Union at its Albany, New York, convention in 1869 after it began organizing members in Canada. The ITU was one of the first unions to admit female members, admitting women members such as Augusta Lewis, Mary Moore and Eva Howard in 1869.
The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collection on British industrial relations, as well as archives relating to many other aspects of British social, political and economic history.
The organizations listed below constitute the Canadian Labour Congress, the national federation of trade unions:
The National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET-CWA) is a labor union representing employees in television, radio, film, and media production. A division of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), NABET represents about 12,000 workers organized into about 35 local unions ("locals").
The 2017 Cincinnati mayoral election took place on November 7, 2017, to elect the Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio. The election was officially nonpartisan, with the top two candidates from the May 2 primary election advancing to the general election, regardless of party. Incumbent Democratic Mayor John Cranley won re-election to a second term.
Police unions in the United States include a large number and patchwork variety of organizations. Of those unions which conduct labor negotiations on behalf of its police members, 80% are independent and have no affiliation to any larger organized labor groups. There were a reported 800,000 sworn officers in the United States as of 2017, and an estimated 75–80% of them belonged to a union.
The United Office and Professional Workers of America (UOPWA) (1937–1950) was a CIO-affiliated union and one of the white-collar unions formed by the CPUSA-breakaway party of Lovestoneites.
A tech union is a trade union for tech workers typically employed in high tech or information and communications technology sectors. Due to the evolving nature of technology and work, different government agencies have conflicting definitions for who is a tech worker. Most definitions include computer scientists, people working in IT, telecommunications, media and video gaming. Broader definitions include all workers required for a tech company to operate, including on-site service staff, contractors, and platform economy workers.
The Barbers, Beauticians and Allied Industries International Association (BBAIIA) was a labor union representing workers in the personal grooming industry in the United States and Canada.
The following is a timeline of labor in New York City from the prehistory of New York City covering the labor of the precolonial era, when the area of present-day New York City was inhabited by Algonquian Native Americans, including the Lenape, to the colonial era, under the Dutch and English, to the American Revolution to modern day New York City.
The International Union of Journeymen and Allied Trades (IUJAT) is a general union in the United States, with a history as a labor union representing farriers.