A union is a group for workers that helps protect and improve their rights and wages. In the 1800s there was the Grand National Consolidated Trade Union, New Model Unions, and New Unionism.

The late 1800s was a period of growth for the unions. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) was formed, the Miners' Federation of Great Britain established, and it saw the beginning of the Labour Party, with the Labour Representation Committee in 1900.