On the Job: Labor Day Vocabulary: Working Together: The Language of Unions

When individuals form groups, they can wield more influence. Workers unite to demand higher pay or safer conditions, companies combine forces to address issues of mutual importance, and states and countries can join forces against a common enemy. We've united all these words together in this handy list just for you!
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. alliance
    the state of being joined in an association or coalition
    The newly formed alliance will train college representatives on topics like hiring and retaining faculty of color, fostering inclusive classrooms and integrating race across the curriculum. Los Angeles Times (Aug 6, 2020)
    An alliance is the uniting of one or more individuals or groups for a common purpose. Alligare is Latin for "to tie up" or "to bind together." It's the word that also gives us ligatures, which you might know as the stitches a doctor uses to close up an incision, and alloy, the melting together of two or more metals to form something like bronze or steel: stronger and more durable than the individual components.
  2. association
    a formal organization of people or groups of people
    “It’s an additional straw that’s being added to the camel’s back. We’re in an economy where my members are seeing their revenues decline,” said Mr. Pease, whose trade association represents small and independent craft breweries. Washington Times (Aug 9, 2020)
  3. coalition
    an organization of people involved in a pact or treaty
    A global coalition of labour unions filed a similar complaint with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in May. BBC (Aug 10, 2020)
    When something coalesces, it comes together, with small particles, pieces, or people joining together into a whole. A coalition is a group of people united by a shared goal.
  4. confederation
    the state of being allied
    An Indian business confederation called for a boycott of 500 Chinese goods, including toys and textiles, to express “strong criticism” of China’s alleged aggression in Ladakh. Washington Times (Jun 18, 2020)
    Confederation is a pretty close synonym of alliance, above.
  5. federation
    an organization formed by merging several groups or parties
    Researchers at AAA, a federation of North American motor clubs, found that the systems recorded disruptions and disengaged roughly every eight miles, encountering situations they were not equipped to handle. Reuters (Aug 6, 2020)
    The United States has a federal government made up of Representatives and Senators elected by the fifty states.
  6. guild
    a formal association of people with similar interests
    The guild maintained that such practices create conflicts of interest between the financial interests of agents and their obligation to represent their writer clients. Los Angeles Times (Aug 5, 2020)
    Before modern unions, different trades would group together into guilds to advocate for fair pay, safe conditions, and other issues of importance to the practitioners of their crafts — blacksmiths, cobblers, glassblowers, and the like.
  7. labor
    any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted
    Uber and Lyft say drivers prefer the flexibility of working as freelancers, while labor unions and elected officials contend this deprives them of traditional benefits like health insurance and workers’ compensation. The Verge (Aug 10, 2020)
  8. league
    an association of states or individuals for common action
    There’s even a professional league—the PPA Championship is currently scheduled for Oct. Slate (Aug 10, 2020)
    Like alliance, above, league also has its origin in the Latin alligare: to tie together. You most likely know the word from sports — where it's the L in the NFL, MLB, NHL, and others.
  9. solidarity
    a union of interests or purposes among members of a group
    Against this backdrop, the push to keep language revitalization going under lockdown is a symbol of cultural resilience—and, for many, an opportunity to build national and international solidarity among indigenous peoples around the world. Slate (Aug 10, 2020)
  10. syndicate
    an association of companies for some definite purpose
    The five men were members of a Melbourne-based criminal syndicate, with alleged links to Italian organised crime, the police said. Reuters (Aug 1, 2020)
    In Greek, a sindikos was essentially a defense attorney. Later, in Latin, a syndic was a representative of a local government. Today, when a group of businesses join together for a common purpose, it's known as a syndicate, although its most often seen in a the context of organized crime.
  11. union
    the state of being joined or united or linked
    Treat the NRA like a corrupt labor union, with strict new internal controls and intensive supervision. Washington Post (Aug 9, 2020)
Created on Sun Jul 26 20:50:16 EDT 2020 (updated Sun Sep 06 16:15:19 EDT 2020)

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