labor union
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.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Understand What unions do.
Functions
Union functions.
Functions
Functions.
- What do unions do, from collective bargaining to representation and services? definition
- How are they structured and governed? provenance
Law
Legal framework.
Law
Legal framework.
- What rights do workers have to join unions and bargain collectively here, in general terms? provenance
- Which rules govern strikes and industrial action? provenance
Member Joining and rights.
Join
Joining a union.
Join
Joining.
- Which unions represent workers in this sector, and how can someone join? provenance
- What do dues cost and cover? provenance
Help
Getting support.
Help
Support.
- How can a union member get representation for a workplace issue? provenance
- Is the user asking for legal advice on their own case? boundary
History Unions in history.
Development
Historical development.
Development
History.
- How did trade unions develop in this country, according to historians? provenance
- Which achievements and conflicts are notable? provenance
Debates
Debates on unions.
Debates
Debates.
- What positions exist on union power and labour law reform, attributed to their proponents? provenance
- Is the description balanced? boundary
Related Related organisations.
Students
Students unions.
Students
Students unions.
- Is a students union meant, and how does it differ from a trade union? boundary
- Which entry fits? action
International
Global unions.
International
Global unions.
- Which international union federations exist, and what do they do? provenance
- How do they engage with the ILO? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Society, people and institutions
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- SOC
- Domain
- SOC.ORG
- Other names and narrower kinds
- 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
What it is Filled
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.
Why it exists Filled
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.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Worker-led
- Collective bargaining
- Legally recognised
- Federated structures
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- 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.
Only with a human decision
- Any decision that touches a worker's union membership or activity.
- Communicating with members on behalf of a union.
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.
Moral aspects Filled
- 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.
Who is affected
- Workers and members
- Employers
- The public affected by strikes
Owners Filled
Steward
Its members, through the union's elected officers; the union registrar records it where one exists.
Master systems
- Trade union registers
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q130370871 - registry parent class
- Q681615 - registry parent class
related
- syndicate - category
- business and professional associations, unions - category
- due - membership dues
- cooperative - other member organisation
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.labor-union
- Wikidata: Q178790 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q178790)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Plane SOC: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Worker membership organisations
- Collective bargaining and representation
- Professional associations regulate a profession rather than bargain
- Not physical; organisations, agreements and actions.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- 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 and failure modes required Filled
- Partisan framing of unions
- Agents giving employment law advice
- Retaliation against organising
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- ILO Conventions 87 and 98 on freedom of association and collective bargaining
- National labour and trade union law
- Rules on industrial action
Context of use required Filled
- Collective representation of workers.
- industrial and craft unions
- public-sector unions
- general unions
- federations and confederations
- students unions (related)
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q178790: labor union - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Trade union - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should each union type be a separate entry?
- How should union directories be linked?
- How should labour law be localised?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q178790/spec.json