what is a labor union 
a labor union is an organization of workers in a trade industry or company that is created to represent the workers in negotiations with management over issues of pay benefits and working conditions the labor union representatives negotiate with employers in a process known as collective bargaining the process results in a tentative agreement that requires a vote of the full membership to be finalized unions have a long history in the united states the first union was established by philadelphia shoemakers in 1794 the federation of organized trades and labor unions was formed in 1881 followed five years later by the american federation of labor afl 12