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Glite Dictionary
to unionize

to unionize

22 5.8
To join or form a group of workers that speaks to their employer about pay and work conditions
  • verb
  • /ˈjuːniəˌnaɪz/
  • US
translation icon : sindicalizarse
  • The strikers demanded the right to unionize, higher pay, and that existing Colorado mining laws be enforced.
  • unionized workers
  • unionized labor
  • unionized workforce

I mean, we, we see a lot more places unionizing now, I think.

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Examples

  • They saw enormous promise, though, in the ongoing effort to unionize industrial workers.

  • And then the second really notable thing that happened is that there was an attempt to unionize a warehouse in Bessemer, AL.

  • - You let them unionize right under your nose.

    Goalie (2019)

  • Nurses' threat to unionize does not guarantee that they will choose to join a union.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Physicians now seek to unionize so that they can better negotiate with insurance companies.

    Academic text (2000)

  • You two cannot unionize college sports, and that's a fact.

    National Champions (2021)

  • l have in my hand more than 578 signatures of students from my high school who wish to unionize.

    The Trotsky (2010)

  • Leon staged a massive strike at his father's Montreal factory this summer to try to unionize the workers there.

    The Trotsky (2010)

  • For academics to become unionized, we first have to acknowledge that we are indeed workers.

    Academic text (2005)

  • Doctors in upstate New York want to unionize to have more power over insurance companies.

Synonyms

to organize union
vsto unionize
  • US
4.3

To form a group of workers to represent and protect their rights

also includes joining an existing organization of workers

Antonyms

to disband
43 4.3

To stop being a group, for example a band or committee

Surface Forms

unionize infinitive
unionized past
unionized past participle
unionizing present participle
unionizes third person singular

Morphology

unionize = union (transparent) = union + ize

The verb is a regular derivation from the noun 'union' with the productive verbalizer '-ize', preserving the expected meaning of forming or joining a union.

Etymology

Unionize comes from the word union, which comes from an old idea of 'one', plus the ending -ize meaning 'to make'. So to unionize workers is to 'make' them into one group that acts together, which is why it means to form or join a labor union.