business unionism

American

noun

the trade-union philosophy and activity that concentrates on the improvement of wages, hours, working conditions, etc., rather than on the general reform of the capitalistic system.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Among the reasons: the American Federation of Labor pushed aside those who sought to overturn capitalism and the Teamsters’ Dave Beck, who designed “a brilliant strategy of business unionism that promised profits and reduced competition to employers in exchange for good wages … for workers.”

From Seattle Times

This is the underlying basis for the "business unionism" that's been so damaging to the labor movement.

From Salon

This is representative of a model of business unionism that many have openly critiqued in the UAW, namely the assumption that the interests of employers are one and the same as the interests of employees.”

From Salon

Shorn of its socialistic futurity this philosophy became non-political "business" unionism; but, when combined with a strong revolutionary spirit, it became a non-political revolutionary unionism, or syndicalism.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023