Editing General union

{{Short description|All-sector bargaining entity}}
{{about|the type of trade union||General Union (disambiguation){{!}}General Union}}

{{Globalize|date=November 2022}}
{{refimprove|date=August 2021}}

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 strike]]s and the like. Detractors claim that the broader remit means they tend to be more [[bureaucracy|bureaucratic]] and respond less effectively to events in a single industry.

In the United Kingdom, general unions include the [[GMB (trade union)|GMB]] and the [[Transport and General Workers' Union]]. In Australia a good example of a general union is the [[Australian Workers' Union]].<ref name=Dyrenfurth>{{cite book |last=Dyrenfurth |first=Nick |year=2017 |title=A Powerful Influence on Australian Affairs: A New History of the AWU |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HAl0DgAAQBAJ |location=[[Carlton, Victoria|Carlton]] |publisher=[[Melbourne University Publishing]] |isbn=9780522872071}}</ref>{{rp|2}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Organised labour}}
* [[One Big Union (concept)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Organized labor|sp=uk}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:General Union}}
[[Category:General unions| ]]
[[Category:Trade unions]]


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