Craft Unionism Law and Legal Definition
Craft unionism refers to the organization of a union by workers in a particular industry along the lines of the particular craft or trade that they work in by class or skill level. It is in contrast to industrial unionism, in which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of differences in skill.
In this type of unionism, every member of the union will be engaged in the same job. Each union is organized according to the craft, or specific work function of its members. An example for this is, in the construction field, all carpenters belong to the carpenters' union, the plasterers form the plasterers' union, and the painters belong to the painters' union. Every craft union has its own administration, policies, collective bargaining agreements and union halls. The goal of craft unionism is the betterment of the members of the particular group.
