closed shop

Any place of work, such as a factory or an office, where all workers within a section must belong to a single, officially recognized trade union. The term is also used where a particular task is permitted to be carried out only by a person holding certain qualifications. Barristers, for example, have sole rights of representation in some courts, a situation solicitors would like to change. Solicitors also protested when licensed conveyancers were permitted to conduct the conveyancing of property.

Closed-shop agreements are negotiated between trade unions and management. Trade unions favour closed shops because 100% union membership gives them greater industrial power. Management may find it convenient because they can deal with workers as a group (collective bargaining) rather than having to negotiate with individual workers.

The closed shop was condemned by the European Court of Human Rights 1981. In the USA the closed shop was made illegal by the Taft-Hartley Act 1947, passed by Congress over President Truman's veto. One of the last examples of the closed shop in the UK was the acting profession where actors were required to be a member of the actors' union Equity.