A union is a collection of workers who negotiate together against their employer using the leverage of strikes and other work stoppages. They are democratically

A union is a collection of workers who negotiate together against their employer using the leverage of strikes and other work stoppages. They are democratically controlled with regular elections for union leadership and votes for major actions like strikes. This means that the union can decide for itself what things it wants to extract from an employer. Through democratic control you will have some influence on its priorities. Unions typically extract a small portion of the pay of its members so that it can fund operations.