General union - Misplaced Pages

(Redirected from General trade union) All-sector bargaining entity This article is about the type of trade union. For the Spanish general, see Luis Firmin de Carvajal, Conde de la Union. For the Japanese trade union, see General Union. For the Belgian trade union, see General Union (Belgium).

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A general union is a trade union (called labor union in American English) which represents workers from all industries and companies, rather than just one organisation or a particular sector, as in a craft union or industrial union. A general union differs from a union federation or trades council in that its members are individuals, not unions. The creation of general unions, from the early nineteenth century in the United Kingdom and somewhat later elsewhere, occurred around the same time as efforts began to unionise workers in new industries, in particular those where employment could be irregular.

Proponents of general unions claim that their broader range of members allows more opportunities for solidarity action and better coordination in general strikes and the like. Detractors claim that the broader remit means they tend to be more bureaucratic and respond less effectively to events in a single industry.

In the United Kingdom, general unions include the GMB and the Transport and General Workers' Union. In Australia a good example of a general union is the Australian Workers' Union.

References

Dyrenfurth, Nick (2017). A Powerful Influence on Australian Affairs: A New History of the AWU. Carlton: Melbourne University Publishing. ISBN 9780522872071.

Organised labour

Formation

Structure	Labour council Union organiser National trade union centre Global union federation Unionisation Union representative Clerk of the chapel Father of the chapel Local union Union dues Vigilance committee Union label Salt Trades hall Duty of fair representation Worker centre
Models	Organising model Service model Social movement unionism Community unionism Members-only unionism One Big Union Open-source unionism Business unionism Dual unionism Solidarity unionism Syndicalism
Types	Company union Independent union General union Craft unionism Industrial unionism Police union

Industrial
relations

Shops and hiring

Actions

Strike actions	Hartal General strike Bandh newspapers Green bans Overtime bans Pen-down strikes Recognition Sitdown strike Solidarity actions Walkout Whipsaw Wildcat strikes

Bargaining

Compensation

Reactions

See also

References