industrial union
1
3.7
- noun
- /ɪnˈdʌstriəl ˈjunɪən/
:
sindicato industrial
- The industrial union organized a strike to advocate for safer workplace policies for every employee.
Examples
-
Less-skilled workers created industrial unions.
Academic text (2000) -
The A.F. of T. is an industrial union.
Academic text (1995) -
Yet as these workers built the industrial unions of the late 1930s and took greater control over their own lives, the meaning of the term began to change.
Academic text (1997) -
We devote ourselves to too much reminiscing about when industrial unions represented a third of the workforce and too little to building new organizations for the third of workers who are now independent contractors.
Blog text (9) -
With the creation of strong, interracial industrial unions, African-American local officials and shop stewards fought for civil rights at the same time they led white "ethnic" workers in important industrial struggles.
Academic text (1997) -
An industrial union, the UMW had long welcomed African-American and foreign-born members, and its monthly magazine, the United Mine Workers Journal, contained Italian and Slovak sections.
Academic text (1996) -
But in one important respect, Kenehan did not fit the standard image of the Irish craftsman: he was a committed friend of labor radicals, favoring powerful industrial unions that reached out to organize the unskilled.
Academic text (1992) -
The industrial union fought for better wages and working conditions for all its members.
-
Many workers joined the industrial union to ensure their rights were represented across the industry.
Synonyms
∞
2.3
A group of workers who act together to protect pay and rights
45
2.7
An organized group of workers that negotiates with employers for better pay and working conditions
12
2.8
A group of workers who protect rights and talk with employers about pay and work conditions
A group of workers that includes everyone in one industry no matter their job
A group of workers who join together to protect their pay and rights by talking with employers
How Inclusive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'industrial' (relating to an industry) modifies 'union' (workers' organization), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a union for workers in an industry (often across different jobs). This adjective+noun pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows standard English formation, making the MWE transparent to B1 learners.
Etymology
Industrial union comes from joining industrial (about factories and industry) and union (a group of workers). Picture everyone on a factory floor linking arms to stand together — that's why it means 'a union for all workers in an industry', not just one trade.