Editing Trade union

<blockquote>''"Union" redirects here. For other uses, see'' ''[[Union (disambiguation)]]''.</blockquote>A '''trade union''' is an organization of [[Proletariat|workers]] created to improve working conditions. Unions are often targeted and suppressed by [[Capitalism|capitalists]] in order to increase [[Profit|profits]] at the expense of the workers.

== Types ==

=== Business unionism ===
Business unionism restricts union struggles to improving [[Wage|wages]] and benefits and restricts power to the union management instead of the masses of workers.<ref name=":1">{{Web citation|author=Katsfoter|newspaper=[[Red Clarion]]|title=Undead Unionism|date=2023-08-13|url=https://clarion.unity-struggle-unity.org/2023-08-13-undead-unionism/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521001822/https://clarion.unity-struggle-unity.org/2023-08-13-undead-unionism/|archive-date=2024-05-21}}</ref>

=== Craft unionism ===
Craft unionism divides workers based on trade, leading workers in the same business to be in separate unions.<ref name=":1" />

=== Industrial unionism ===
Industrial unionism seeks to unite all workers in an industry into one union.<ref name=":1" />

== Common issues ==

=== Settler colonialism ===
In [[Settler colonialism|settler-colonial]] countries, much of the [[White people|white]]-controlled labor movement takes a [[Chauvinism|chauvinist]] stance and sides with the white bourgeoisie against indigenous peoples. For example, in [[Republic of South Africa|South Africa]], white workers led a strike in the 1920s with the slogan, "Workers of the world unite and fight for a [[Apartheid|white]] South Africa!".<ref name=":02">{{Web citation|author=Bill Fletcher Jr.|newspaper=[[Monthly Review]]|title=Race Is About More Than Discrimination|date=2020-07-01|url=https://monthlyreview.org/2020/07/01/race-is-about-more-than-discrimination/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323205358/https://monthlyreview.org/2020/07/01/race-is-about-more-than-discrimination/|archive-date=2023-03-23}}</ref>

== By country ==

=== United Kingdom ===
Several rudimentary political unions were formed in the 1830s and 1840s, with noteworthy causes including the [[Merthyr Rising]] and the [[Tolpuddle Martyrs]]. However, one of the first proper trade union to be established was the [[Amalgamated Society of Engineers]] in 1851. The formation of several similar "amalgamated" unions representing different industries followed.<ref>{{News citation|author=Workers Party of Britain|newspaper=YouTube|title=Trade Unionism in Britain – Past, Present, ...Future?|date=2022-04-22|url=https://youtu.be/kZRH5dY9UN4}}</ref> Trade union activity peaked in the 1970s, culminating in the 1984 miners' strike, and has since witnessed a decline in membership from a peak of 13.2 million in 1979 to 6.6 million in 2019.<ref>{{Citation|author=Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy|year=2021|title=Trade union statistics 2020|title-url=https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/trade-union-statistics-2020}}</ref> Historically, the relationship of Britain's trade unions to the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] has been a key point of contention, and while the biggest trade unions remain affiliated to the party, in 2022 some of most militant unions either remained unaffiliated or were considering disaffiliation.<ref>{{News citation|author=Mason Boycott-Owen|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|title=Keir Starmer is not on the side of workers, says RMT chief|date=2022-05-29|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/05/29/rail-unions-consider-leaving-labour-behind-keir-starmer-not/}}</ref>

=== United States ===
The first nationwide union in the [[United States of America|United States]] was the [[Knights of Labor]], which was later replaced by the [[American Federation of Labor]]. Many unions were targeted by the [[Pinkerton National Detective Agency|Pinkerton detective agency]].<ref name=":0">{{News citation|author=Colin Hanner|newspaper=Unit|title=A brief history of union-busting|date=2021-05-14|url=https://guide.unitworkers.com/a-brief-history-of-union-busting/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620150631/https://guide.unitworkers.com/a-brief-history-of-union-busting/|archive-date=2021-06-20|retrieved=2022-06-01}}</ref> The [[Industrial Workers of the World|IWW]] became the first union to include workers of all races.<ref name=":02" /> In 1983, 16.2% of private sector workers were unionized; by 2020, the percentage had decreased to 6.3%, even though 65% of people support unionization.<ref>{{News citation|author=Megan Brenan|newspaper=Gallup|title=At 65%, Approval of Labor Unions in U.S. Remains High|date=2020-09-03|url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/318980/approval-labor-unions-remains-high.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514192933/https://news.gallup.com/poll/318980/approval-labor-unions-remains-high.aspx|archive-date=2022-05-14|retrieved=2022-06-01}}</ref> Many companies, including [[Amazon.com, Inc.|Amazon]], [[Google]], [[Nissan]], [[Tesla]], [[Trader Joe's]], and [[Walmart]] have taken a side against unions.<ref name=":0" />

== References ==