Public-sector trade unions in the United States

A public-sector trade union (or public-sector labor union) is a trade union which primarily represents the interests of employees within public sector or governmental organizations.

The 1935 National Labor Relations Act enshrined the right of workers to form unions and engage in collective bargaining, but it specifically excluded public sector workers. Legal protections for public sector unions were enshrined with President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 Executive Order 10988 and a wave of state-level legislation in the late 1950s to the early 1980s.

Even though legal protections varied between private and public workers, there were many public sector unions at the local level in the first half of the 20th century. For instance, the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) were established in 1915 and 1918 respectively.

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