Union Terminology
Glossary of Union Terms
Unions have developed a special vocabulary to describe much of what we do. Definitions are given here for the most commonly used terms.
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- "Right-to-Work" States:
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States which have passed laws prohibiting unions from negotiating union shop clauses in their contracts with employers covered by the NLRA. In 1997 there are 21 "right-to-work" states. Unions often refer to these as "right to work for less" states.
- Accretions:
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Employees added to the bargaining unit once a union is certified as a representative of the bargaining unit.
- ADA:
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See Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Administrative Law Judge (ALJ):
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A civil service appointee of the National Labor Relations Board who conducts unfair labor practice hearings in the region where such cases originate.
- Advisory Arbitration:
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Form of arbitration often referred to as fact finding where the decision of the arbitrator is not binding.
- Agency Shop:
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A contract provision under which employees who do not join the union are required to pay a collective bargaining service fee instead. This service fee is usually the same as monthly dues. In some states public workers choose to pay service fee based on a percentage of the Union’s budget spent on representing the bargaining unit’s time and money spent on organizing and political action, not considered to be directly representing members.
- ALJ:
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See Administrative Law Judge.
- Alter Ego Employer:
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An employer who changes the name and outward appearance of a business but is in fact the same employer. An employer cannot rid himself of his obligation to recognize the legitimate bargaining representative through an alter ego.
- Americans with Disabilities Act:
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National law forbidding discrimination against employees on the basis of disability and requiring reasonable accommodations for qualified disabled employees. The ADA is enforced by the Equal Opportunities Employment Commission (EEOC) and by private lawsuit.
- Annuity:
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A form of investment plan usually provided as a retirement plan that provides for income for a specified period of time, such as a number of years or for life.
- Annuity:
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A form of investment plan usually provided as a retirement plan that provides for income for a specified period of time, such as a number of years or for life.
- Annuity:
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A form of investment plan usually provided as a retirement plan that provides for income for a specified period of time, such as a number of years or for life.
- Arbitration:
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A method of settling a labor-management dispute by having an impartial third party decide the issue. The decision of the third party (arbitrator) is usually binding.
- Area Standards Picketing:
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A form of picketing with the purpose of encouraging an employer to observe the standards in that industry in that locality. This kind of picketing has formed legal restrictions than picketing to force an employer to recognize a union or to impress employees noneconomic benefits.
- Areawide Bargaining:
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Collective bargaining agreement which covers all the unionized employers and their employees in a specific geographical and industrial setting.