Organizers within

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s have sought to increase the

bargaining power Bargaining power is the relative ability of parties in a negotiation (such as bargaining, contract writing, or making an agreement) to exert influence over each other in order to achieve favourable terms in an agreement. This power is derived f ...

of workers in regards to

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and labour rights, rights for ...

by acting in collaboration with other trade unions. Multi-union organizing can take place on an informal basis, or on a more formal basis via an

umbrella organization An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and iden ...

comprising multiple trade unions. Such umbrella organizations may be referred to as a trade union federation, trade union confederation, or trade union centre.

Background

A prominent example of trade union federations is the national trade union federation— national trade union confederation or centre—which are composed of trade unions within a particular country. Most countries have a national trade union federation, with many countries having more than one. The largest national trade union federation is the

All-China Federation of Trade Unions The All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) is the national trade union center and people's organization of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest trade union in the world with 302 million members in 1,713,000 primary tra ...

with a total membership of 302 million as of 2017. From 1935 to 1955 in the United States, there were two competing national trade union federations: the

American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutual ...

(AFL) and the

Congress of Industrial Organizations The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of Labor unions in the United States, unions that organized workers in industrial unionism, industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in ...

(CIO). The AFL comprised primarily

craft union Craft unionism refers to a model of trade unionism in which workers are organised based on the particular craft or trade in which they work. It contrasts with industrial unionism, in which all workers in the same industry are organized into the sa ...

s and was oriented towards the moderate and conservative end of the labour movement, while the CIO primarily comprised industrial unions which tended to be more radical. Prior to their reunification into the

AFL-CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

in 1955, the two federations competed with each other for affiliates and influence. Even following their amalgamation, the AFL-CIO faced a split again in 2005 by the Change to Win Federation. In some regions, such as the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

, different federations exist on a sectoral basis, for example, for

blue collar A blue-collar worker is a person who performs manual labor or skilled trades. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involve manufacturing, retail, warehousing, mining, carpentry, electrical work, custodia ...

workers and

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

s. As well as national federations, trade unions may establish international federations, either along industry lines as with

global union federation A global union federation (GUF) is an international List of federations of trade unions, federation of national trade unions organizing in specific industry sectors or occupational groups. Historically, such federations in the social democratic t ...

s such as the UITBB and the

International Transport Workers' Federation The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a democratic global union federation of transport workers' trade unions, founded in 1896. In 2017 the ITF had 677 member organizations in 149 countries, representing a combined membership o ...

, or across multiple industries, as with the

International Trade Union Confederation The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC; ; ; ) is the world's largest trade union federation. History The federation was formed on 1 November 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) a ...

(ITUC) and the

World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade union, trade unions established on October 3, 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the Int ...

(WFTU). One of the ITUC's predecessors, the

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 whe ...

(ICFTU), was founded as an

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

splinter of the WFTU. Some federations may be founded as cross sections of workers organization and religious attitudes present, such as present within the Christian socialist or

Christian democratic Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...

traditions, such as the French Confederation of Christian Workers (CFTC) and the

Christian Trade Union Federation of Germany The Christian Trade Union Federation of Germany (CGB) is a national trade union center in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the ...

(CGB). A federation may also be founded on explicitly secular grounds such as the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT). Historically, the International Federation of Christian Trade Unions existed as an international federation of Christian trade unions, and later as the World Confederation of Labour, as it expanded to include Muslim and Buddhist trade unions as well. It was the smallest of the 3 major international federations during the cold war, and ended up merging with the ICTFU to form the ITUC.

History

The origins of trade union federations are intertwined with the development of

trade unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

themselves.

Examples

Some examples of trade union federations include: * Argentina: General Confederation of Labour (CGT) and Argentine Workers' Central Union (CTA) * Armenia: Confederation of Trade Unions of Armenia (CTUA) * Australia:

Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated trade union, unions and eight t ...

(ACTU) * Brazil: Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT) * Britain:

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

(TUC) * Canada:

Canadian Labour Congress The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC ( or ), is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in Canada to which most Canadian trade union, labour unions are affiliated. History Formation The CLC was founded on April 23, 1956, thro ...

(CLC) * Czechia: Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (ČMKOS) * Denmark:

Danish Confederation of Trade Unions LO, The Danish Confederation of Trade Unions ( Danish: ''LO, Landsorganisationen i Danmark'' or simply ''LO'') was founded in 1898 and was an umbrella organisation (the largest of the three national trade union centers in Denmark) for 18 Danish ...

(LO) * France: French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT) and General Confederation of Labour (CGT) * Germany: German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) * India: Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) and

Hind Mazdoor Sabha The Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) was formed by the Socialists in 1948 but has little real connection with the Socialist Party. It is one of the least political and most pragmatic trade-union federations in India. The HMS is affiliated with the Int ...

(HMS) * Ireland:

Irish Congress of Trade Unions The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (often abbreviated to just Congress or ICTU), formed in 1959 by the merger of the Irish Trades Union Congress (founded in 1894) and the Congress of Irish Unions (founded in 1945), is a national trade union cent ...

(ICTU) * Italy:

Italian General Confederation of Labour The Italian General Confederation of Labour (, , CGIL ) is a national trade union centre in Italy. It was formed by an agreement between socialists, communists, and Christian democrats in the "Pact of Rome" of June 1944. In 1950, socialists and ...

(CGIL),

Italian Confederation of Trades Unions The Italian Confederation of Trades Unions (, ; CISL ) is a national trade union centre in Italy representing various Catholic-inspired groups linked with Christian Democracy party. It was founded on 30 April 1950, when Catholics in the Italian ...

(CSIL) and Italian Labour Union (UIL) * Japan:

Japanese Trade Union Confederation Rengo is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune located in the Zona Central, Chile, Zona Central of Chile, situated in the Cachapoal Province of the O'Higgins Region at a distance of south of the city of Rancagua and sout ...

(RENGO) * Netherlands:

Federation of Dutch Trade Unions The Federation of Dutch Trade Unions (, FNV) is a national trade union centre in the Netherlands. The FNV is a significant player in the field of work and income. The trade union consists of a central federation, complemented by several sectoral ...

(FNV) * Norway: Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) * New Zealand New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) * South Africa: Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) * Spain:

Workers' Commissions The Workers' Commissions () since the 1970s has become the largest trade union in Spain. It has more than one million members, and is the most successful union in labor elections, competing with the Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT), which is ...

(CCOO),

Unión Sindical Obrera The Unión Sindical Obrera (USO) is a Spanish trade union. Founded as a clandestine organization in 1961—during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco—the union was an outgrowth of Roman Catholic organizations dedicated to Catholic socia ...

(USO), General Confederation of Labour (CGT) and

Confederación Nacional del Trabajo The (CNT; ) is a Spanish anarcho-syndicalist national trade union center, trade union confederation. Founded in 1910 in Barcelona from groups brought together by the trade union ''Solidaridad Obrera (historical union), Solidaridad Obrera'', ...

(CNT) * Sweden:

Swedish Trade Union Confederation The Swedish Trade Union Confederation ( ; literally "The National Organisation in Sweden"), commonly referred to as LO (), is a national trade union centre, an umbrella organisation for fourteen Swedish trade unions that organise mainly "blue-c ...

(LO) * USA: American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and the Strategic Organizing Center * Uruguay: Plenario Intersindical de Trabajadores – Convención Nacional de Trabajadores (PIT-CNT)

Background

History

Examples

See also

References

Further reading