AFAIU an артель artelʼ usually did not engage in collective bargaining as such, so calling it a union is not really accurate; you might compare it to a guild bu

AFAIU an артель artelʼ usually did not engage in collective bargaining as such, so calling it a union is not really accurate; you might compare it to a guild but I think there’s no implicaton of a monopoly on a particular trade either. The most accurate description I can think of is perhaps a cooperative combined with a mutual insurance fund.