Naomi Soldon

A labor union is an organization that represents workers in the same industry as the unionized workers in the unionized company. However, a labor union can also represent workers in other industries and even throughout the entire country, for the same company. Naomi Soldon shares that a labor union is made up of both worker's and employers' branches. The employer’s branch represents workers in the company, while the worker’s branch represents the other employees and the company’s owners/managers. A labor union is not a political organization and does not endorse candidates for political office.

Naomi Soldon shares that the first recorded labor union in Wisconsin was a drivers’ union formed in 1886. The State was without a labor union law until 1919, when a collective bargaining agreement was passed that expired in 1927. In the early 1900s, a small number of craft unions formed in the state, but they soon merged into the state-wide American Federation of Labor (AFL).