{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.labor-union","code":"thing-q178790","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q178790/","name":"labor union","alternateNames":["Collective contract shopping","public-sector trade union","students' union","Workers' Education Society","trade union federation","Students' union","AStA","student association","Student bar association","student government in the United States","tech union","Unionization in the nonprofit sector"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.2","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Society, people and institutions","entryKind":"thing","plane":"SOC","domain":["SOC.ORG"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"An organisation of workers formed to protect and advance their interests through collective bargaining, representation and action, including craft, industrial, public-sector and general unions, federations and confederations; unions are regulated by labour law and recognised in international standards on freedom of association.","purpose":"Let an agent explain trade unions and their functions, help workers understand membership, rights and collective bargaining in general terms, describe union history and debates neutrally, and separate students unions.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Worker-led","Collective bargaining","Legally recognised","Federated structures"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What unions do.","layers":[{"id":"functions","name":"Functions","description":"Union functions.","findings":[{"id":"functions-finding","name":"Functions","description":"Functions.","questions":[{"text":"What do unions do, from collective bargaining to representation and services?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"How are they structured and governed?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"law","name":"Law","description":"Legal framework.","findings":[{"id":"law-finding","name":"Law","description":"Legal framework.","questions":[{"text":"What rights do workers have to join unions and bargain collectively here, in general terms?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which rules govern strikes and industrial action?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"member","name":"Member","description":"Joining and rights.","layers":[{"id":"join","name":"Join","description":"Joining a union.","findings":[{"id":"join-finding","name":"Join","description":"Joining.","questions":[{"text":"Which unions represent workers in this sector, and how can someone join?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What do dues cost and cover?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"help","name":"Help","description":"Getting support.","findings":[{"id":"help-finding","name":"Help","description":"Support.","questions":[{"text":"How can a union member get representation for a workplace issue?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the user asking for legal advice on their own case?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"Unions in history.","layers":[{"id":"development","name":"Development","description":"Historical development.","findings":[{"id":"development-finding","name":"Development","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did trade unions develop in this country, according to historians?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which achievements and conflicts are notable?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"debates","name":"Debates","description":"Debates on unions.","findings":[{"id":"debates-finding","name":"Debates","description":"Debates.","questions":[{"text":"What positions exist on union power and labour law reform, attributed to their proponents?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the description balanced?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"related","name":"Related","description":"Related organisations.","layers":[{"id":"students","name":"Students","description":"Students unions.","findings":[{"id":"students-finding","name":"Students","description":"Students unions.","questions":[{"text":"Is a students union meant, and how does it differ from a trade union?","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Which entry fits?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"international","name":"International","description":"Global unions.","findings":[{"id":"international-finding","name":"International","description":"Global unions.","questions":[{"text":"Which international union federations exist, and what do they do?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"How do they engage with the ILO?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Report a union's membership, agreements and actions from its official sources.","Explain workers' rights to join or not join a union in a stated jurisdiction."],"mustNot":["Help an employer identify, monitor or penalise workers for union membership or activity.","Spread false information about a union or a ballot.","Break or help break a lawful strike by impersonating workers or the union.","Disclose union membership, which is sensitive personal data, without a lawful basis."],"requiresHuman":["Any decision that touches a worker's union membership or activity.","Communicating with members on behalf of a union."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Freedom of association is a fundamental right; workers have been sacked and harmed for exercising it.","Unions hold power over members' working lives and must answer to them."],"affectedParties":["Workers and members","Employers","The public affected by strikes"]},"owners":{"steward":"Its members, through the union's elected officers; the union registrar records it where one exists.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["Trade union registers"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q130370871","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q681615","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"syndicate","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"business and professional associations, unions","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"due","type":"related","note":"membership dues"},{"target":"cooperative","type":"related","note":"other member organisation"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.labor-union","Wikidata: Q178790 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q178790)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Worker membership organisations","Collective bargaining and representation","Professional associations regulate a profession rather than bargain","Not physical; organisations, agreements and actions."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain what unions do and how they work","explain membership and worker rights in general terms","find unions and federations","describe history and debates neutrally"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Partisan framing of unions","Agents giving employment law advice","Retaliation against organising"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["ILO Conventions 87 and 98 on freedom of association and collective bargaining","National labour and trade union law","Rules on industrial action"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Collective representation of workers.","industrial and craft unions","public-sector unions","general unions","federations and confederations","students unions (related)"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q178790: labor union","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q178790","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Trade union","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_union","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should each union type be a separate entry?","How should union directories be linked?","How should labour law be localised?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q178790/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q178790/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-11T20:18:40Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:27+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane SOC: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}