labor union, trade union, trades union, union, brotherhood - an organization of employees formed to bargain with the employer; "you have to join the union in order to get a job"

I.W.W., Industrial Workers of the World, IWW - a former international labor union and radical labor movement in the United States; founded in Chicago in 1905 and dedicated to the overthrow of capitalism; its membership declined after World War I

trade unionism, unionism - the system or principles and theory of labor unions

reform movement - a movement intended to bring about social and humanitarian reforms