noun
1 act of joining; state of being joined
ADJECTIVE
▪ close
▪
Some of the member states wanted a closer ~ rather than the loose confederation that developed.
▪ loose
▪ full
▪
a move in the direction of full political ~
▪ economic , monetary , political
▪ currency , customs
VERB + UNION
▪ create , form
▪ dissolve
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ between
▪
currency ~ between the two countries
▪ ~ with
▪
the ~ with East Germany
2 workers' organization
ADJECTIVE
▪ labor ( AmE ), trade ( esp. BrE ), trades ( BrE )
▪ public-sector , public-service , public-services (all BrE )
▪ government-employee , public-employee (both AmE )
▪ free , independent
▪ official
▪ big , large , major
▪
France's biggest ~
▪ militant , strong
▪ local , national
▪ industrial ( esp. AmE )
▪ electricians' , faculty ( AmE ), teachers' , etc.
▪
She became active in the teachers' ~.
▪ engineering , health , rail , teaching , transport , etc. (all BrE )
▪ student , students'
VERB + UNION
▪ form , organize ( esp. AmE ), set up
▪ join
▪ belong to
▪ recognize
UNION + VERB
▪ be affiliated to sth
▪ represent sb/sth
▪
The ~ represents 40% of all hospital workers.
▪ negotiate (sth)
▪
The nurses' ~ negotiated a new contract.
▪ accept sth , agree (to sth)
▪ refuse sth , reject sth , threaten sth
▪
The ~ threatened strike action if its demands were not met.
▪ claim sth , express sth
▪
Several ~s expressed support for the strike.
▪ support sb/sth
UNION + NOUN
▪ confederation , federation , movement , organization
▪ branch ( esp. BrE ), local ( AmE )
▪ action , activism , activity , militancy ( esp. BrE ), power
▪ rights
▪ activist , member , official , rep , representative
▪ spokesman , spokesperson , spokeswoman
▪ boss , chief , leader , organizer , president , secretary ( esp. BrE ), shop steward ( BrE ), steward ( BrE )
▪ leadership , membership , representation
▪ conference ( esp. BrE ), election
▪ shop ( AmE )
▪ card , dues ( esp. AmE )
▪
He paid his ~ dues to Local Union 98.
▪ law
▪ contract ( AmE )
3 between two people
ADJECTIVE
▪ civil , legal
▪ holy , spiritual
▪ sexual
▪ gay , same-sex
VERB + UNION
▪ allow , recognize
▪
states where same-sex ~s are recognized