white-collar union

white-collar union

a TRADE UNION which largely or exclusively represents clerical, administrative and technical employees. In the past, such unions have generally been concerned to maintain for their members conditions of employment, rates of PAY, and status superior to those of manual WORKERS. With the growth of public sector employment and the gradual shift in the UK from manufacturing to services, such unions have generally achieved big increases in their membership since the 1960s.