wildcat union
- noun
- /ˈwaɪldˌkæt ˈjunɪn/
:
sindicato independiente
- The workers established a wildcat union when their concerns were not addressed by the official organization.
Examples
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After months of frustration, a small group created a wildcat union to demand improved safety measures.
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Management refused to negotiate with the newly formed wildcat union.
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The workers formed a wildcat union to demand better wages.
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Many wildcat unions have emerged in recent years.
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After months of frustration, a small group created a wildcat union to demand improved safety measures.
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The workers established a wildcat union when their concerns were not addressed by the official organization.
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Management refused to negotiate with the newly formed wildcat union.
How Recognized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an unauthorized/independent union' is directly derivable from combining 'wildcat' (performed without permission; unauthorized) with 'union' (workers' organization). Although 'wildcat' has a specific labor collocation in phrases like 'wildcat strike', the compound is compositionally transparent and a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the intended sense.
Etymology
The noun wildcat union may come from the word wildcat, used for risky, independent oil drillers called 'wildcatters' who drilled in unknown places outside the big companies. That's why a wildcat union is a union made by workers on their own, 'without official approval'.
