American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations

AFL-CIO | History, Meaning, Purpose, Leaders, & Facts

AFL–CIO, American federation of autonomous labour unions formed in 1955 by the merger of the AFL (founded 1886), which originally organized workers in craft unions, and the CIO (founded 1935), which organized workers by industries. Founded in 1881, the Federation of Organized Trades was the

AFL-CIO, American federation of autonomous labor unions formed in 1955 by the merger of the AFL (founded 1886), which originally organized workers in craft unions, and the CIO (founded 1935), which organized workers by industries. Learn more about the AFL-CIO, including its history.

AFL–CIO

Alberti del Guidice

Alberti Family | Medici allies, Renaissance patrons

Alberti Family, wealthy Florentine merchant banking family that was influential in European politics in the second half of the 14th century and notable for its patronage of the arts and beneficence toward the poor. The ascendancy of the Alberti family began with Niccolò di Iacopo di Alberti (d.

Alberti Family

AITUC

All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)

All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), India’s second largest trade union federation after the Indian National Trade Union Congress. The AITUC was formed by the Indian National Congress (the central organ of the independence movement) in 1920 to represent India at the International Labour

All-India Trade Union Congress

Alphabet, Inc. | History, Products, & Business Segments

Alphabet Inc. is an American technology conglomerate and holding company formed in 2015 as a strategic restructuring of Google and its various subsidiaries. Commonly referred to as Google’s parent company, Alphabet was created to implement Larry Page and Sergey Brin’s strategic goal of continuous

Alphabet, Inc. is an American technology holding company and the parent company of search engine and cloud computing giant Google and its top platforms including Search, YouTube, and Android. 

Alphabet, Inc.

ACTWU

Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU)

Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU), former union of garment and apparel workers in the United States and Canada. It was formed in 1976 by the merger of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA), a large union representing workers in the men’s clothing industry, with the

Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union

AEEU

Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU)

Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU), the leading trade union in the manufacturing sector of the United Kingdom until 2001, when it combined with two other British unions. The Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU) originated in 1992 through the merger of the Amalgamated

Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union

AARP

American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)

American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to address the needs and interests of middle-aged and elderly people in the United States. Its membership is open to all persons age 50 or older, whether working or retired. It is headquartered in

AARP 15th Annual Movies For Grownups Awards, 2016

American Association of Retired Persons

AF of L, AFL, Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada

American Federation of Labor | Leader, Goals, Successes, & Significance

American Federation of Labor (AFL), federation of North American labour unions that was founded in 1886 under the leadership of Samuel Gompers as the successor to the Federation of Organized Trades (1881), which had replaced the Knights of Labor (KOL) as the most powerful industrial union of the

American Federation of Labor

AFSCME

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American union representing a wide variety of public- and private-sector employees including local and state government workers, hospital workers, university employees, teachers, and other public school workers. Almost all

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees

American Federation of Teachers (AFT)

American Federation of Teachers (AFT), U.S. trade union for classroom educators, school personnel, and public employees. It was formed in 1916 as an affiliate of the American Federation of Labor (see AFL–CIO). Through collective bargaining and teachers’ strikes, it has obtained for its members

American Federation of Teachers

Anheuser-Busch InBev | Brewing, Mergers, Acquisitions

Anheuser-Busch InBev, international brewing company created by the 2008 merger of Anheuser-Busch and InBev. It is the largest brewer in the world. The headquarters are in Leuven, Belgium. InBev—which was founded through the merger (2004) of the Brazilian Companhia de Bebidas das Américas (AmBev)

Anheuser-Busch InBev

Asiento de negros | Spanish Slave Trade, Colonialism & Abolition

asiento de negros, between the early 16th and the mid-18th century, an agreement between the Spanish crown and a private person or another sovereign power by which the latter was granted a monopoly in supplying African slaves for the Spanish colonies in the Americas. The contractor (asentista)

asiento de negros

AstraZeneca PLC

AstraZeneca | Pharmaceuticals, Vaccines, & Facts

AstraZeneca, British-Swedish biopharmaceutical company with medicine sales in more than 130 countries, making it one of the largest drug companies in the world. AstraZeneca’s main research and development areas include oncology, rare diseases, and biopharmaceutical intervention, and it has numerous

AstraZeneca

Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama, Alabama Polytechnic Institute, East Alabama Male College

Auburn University | Research, Education, Athletics

Auburn University, public, coeducational institution of higher education located in Auburn, Alabama, U.S. The university offers a broad range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs and is noted for its colleges of engineering and business. Degrees in nursing, pharmacy, and veterinary

Auburn University

ACTU

Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU)

Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), the dominant association and governing body of the trade union movement in Australia, established in May 1927. Membership grew significantly when the Australian Workers’ Union joined the ACTU in 1967. Two other mergers with federations of white-collar

Australian Council of Trade Unions

Automation | Technology, Types, Rise, History, & Examples

automation, application of machines to tasks once performed by human beings or, increasingly, to tasks that would otherwise be impossible. Although the term mechanization is often used to refer to the simple replacement of human labour by machines, automation generally implies the integration of

Automation, application of machines to tasks once performed by human beings or, increasingly, to tasks that would otherwise be impossible. These machines are concerned with performing a process by means of programmed commands combined with automatic feedback control to ensure proper execution of the instructions.

automation

Babson College | Private, Business, Entrepreneurship

Babson College, private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S. Business management education is emphasized at the college, which offers B.S. and M.B.A. degrees. It consists of divisions of accounting and law, arts and humanities, economics, finance, history

Babson College

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) | History & Facts

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), first steam-operated railway in the United States to be chartered as a common carrier of freight and passengers (1827). The B&O Railroad Company was established by Baltimore, Maryland, merchants to compete with New York merchants and their newly opened Erie Canal

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), first steam-operated railway in the United States to be chartered as a common carrier of freight and passengers (1827). The B&O was established by Baltimore, Maryland, merchants to compete with New York merchants and their newly opened Erie Canal for trade to the west.

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

Bank for International Settlements (BIS)

Bank for International Settlements, international bank established at Basel, Switzerland, in 1930, as the agency to handle the payment of reparations by Germany after World War I and as an institution for cooperation among the central banks of the various countries (see Young Plan). It has since

Bank for International Settlements

Baring family | British Merchants & Banking Dynasty

Baring family, British family whose banking and commercial house played a principal role in British overseas lending for two centuries. John Baring emigrated from Bremen to England and started a small wool business near Exeter in 1717. His son, the future Sir Francis Baring, lst Baronet

Baring family

Belmont family | American Political Dynasty

Belmont family, family prominent in American banking and finance, politics, and patronage of the arts. The family’s founder in the United States was August Belmont (b. Dec. 8, 1816, Alzey, Rhenish Prussia [Germany]—d. Nov. 24, 1890, New York, N.Y., U.S.), a German-born banker and diplomat. The son

Belmont family

Bilderberg Conference

Bilderberg Meetings | History & Facts

Bilderberg Meetings, annual meetings attended by 120 to 150 political leaders, government officials, and experts from industry, finance, media, and academia in Europe and North America. The meetings, held in a different European or North American country each year, provide a private, informal

Bilderberg Meetings, annual meetings of 120 to 150 political leaders, government officials, and experts from industry, finance, media, and academia in Europe and North America. The meetings, held in a different country each year, provide a private environment for informal interaction and discussion of common problems.

Bilderberg Meetings

Black Friday | Origins, History, Retail Industry & Cyber Monday

Black Friday is a term commonly used to refer to the Friday after Thanksgiving, when retailers have traditionally kicked off the holiday shopping season with deep discounts. Occasionally used to identify different financial calamities in the 19th and 20th centuries, the term gradually became

Black Friday is the term commonly used to refer to the Friday after Thanksgiving, when retailers have traditionally kicked off the holiday shopping season with deep discounts.

Black Friday

Blackbirding | Pacific Islands, Indigenous Peoples, Colonialism

blackbirding, the 19th- and early 20th-century practice of enslaving (often by force and deception) South Pacific islanders on the cotton and sugar plantations of Queensland, Australia (as well as those of the Fiji and Samoan islands). The kidnapped islanders were known collectively as Kanakas (see

blackbirding

Boston Tea Party | Facts, Summary, & Significance

Boston Tea Party, (December 16, 1773), incident in which 342 chests of tea belonging to the British East India Company were thrown from ships into Boston Harbor by American patriots disguised as Mohawk Indians. The Americans were protesting both a tax on tea (taxation without representation) and

Boston Tea Party, precursor to the American Revolution in which 342 chests of tea belonging to the British East India Company were thrown into Boston Harbor by American patriots disguised as Mohawk Indians on December 16, 1773. They were protesting a tax on tea and the East India Company’s perceived monopoly.

Boston Tea Party

Business attire

an overview of common dress codes in the workplace, including what constitutes formal attire and "business

business attire

Business etiquette

an overview of the conduct typically expected of business

business etiquette

ByteDance | Apps, Controversies, & Facts

ByteDance, Chinese technology company that developed novel video-sharing social networking applications, most notably TikTok. ByteDance also serves as the parent company of several popular social media and news apps. ByteDance was founded in 2012 by a development team led by Zhang Yiming and Liang

ByteDance is a Chinese technology company that has developed novel video-sharing social networking applications, most notably TikTok. ByteDance also serves as the parent company of several popular social media and news apps.

ByteDance

Cabot family | Wealth & Boston

Cabot family, prominent American family since the arrival of John Cabot at Salem, Massachusetts, in 1700. The Cabot family has enjoyed a long tradition of wealth, philanthropy, and talent. John and his son Joseph were highly successful merchants. They traded rum but also trafficked enslaved persons

Cabot family, prominent American family since the arrival of John Cabot in Massachusetts in 1700. Members of Boston’s aristocratic Brahmins, the Cabots have enjoyed a long tradition of wealth, philanthropy, and talent, though the family’s fortune was partly derived from trading enslaved persons and opium.

Cabot family

Canada Company | Incorporation, Land Grants, Colonization

Canada Company, organization instrumental in colonizing much of the western part of Upper Canada (now Ontario). Many residents of Upper Canada had incurred losses during the War of 1812 and subsequently claimed an indemnity from the British government. The latter agreed to pay a portion of the

Canada Company

Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)

Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), nationwide association of labour unions in Canada, comprising both wholly Canadian “national” unions and “international” unions that are Canadian branches of unions based in the United States. The CLC was formed in 1956 through the merger of the Trades and Labour

Canadian Labour Congress

CNE, Toronto Industrial Exhibition, the Ex

Canadian National Exhibition (CNE)

Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), fair held annually since 1879 in Toronto. Generally lasting 18 days and ending on Labour Day (the first Monday in September), the event has historically showcased Canadian commercial and technological innovations, in addition to providing a wide variety of

Canadian National Exhibition

Central Pacific Railroad | Founders, History, & Facts

Central Pacific Railroad, American railroad company founded in 1861 by a group of California merchants known later as the “Big Four” (Collis P. Huntington, Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker); they are best remembered for having built part of the first American transcontinental rail

Workers laying tracks for the Central Pacific Railroad in Nevada, 1868.

Central Pacific Railroad, American railroad company founded in 1861 by a group of California merchants known later as the ‘Big Four’ (Collis P. Huntington, Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker); they are best remembered for having built part of the first American transcontinental rail line.

Central Pacific Railroad

Chūritsu Rōren, Federation of Independent Unions, Liaison Council of Neutral Labour Unions

Chūritsurōren | Japanese Trade Union, Labour Rights, Worker Protection

Chūritsurōren, Japanese trade-union federation (1961–87) whose members were primarily employed in private enterprise. Although some of the individual member unions were identified with political parties, the federation itself was independent. Chūritsurōren often cooperated with the General Council

Chūritsurōren

CLUW

Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW)

Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), organization of women trade unionists representing more than 60 American and international labour unions. The CLUW was founded at a conference in Chicago in June 1973 by a number of women labour union leaders, notably Olga Mada of the United Auto Workers and

Coalition of Labor Union Women

Caracas Company, Guipúzcoa Company

Compañía Guipuzcoana | Basque Country, Trading, Merchants

Compañía Guipuzcoana, trading concern chartered by the Spanish crown in 1728, with a monopoly on trade between Spain and Venezuela. It was one of a number of companies for colonial trade established under the 18th-century Bourbon kings, and it was the only one that was financially successful. The

Compañía Guipuzcoana

CIO, Committee for Industrial Organization

Congress of Industrial Organizations | Union, Purpose, Importance, & Difference from AFL

Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), federation of affiliated North American industrial unions that originated in the mid-1930s within the American Federation of Labor (AFL), from which it was expelled in 1937. The AFL limited its membership to craft (skill) unions and refused to support the

Congress of Industrial Organizations

Council for New England | Puritan, Colonial, Exploration

Council for New England, in British American colonial history, joint stock company organized in 1620 by a charter from the British crown with authority to colonize and govern the area now known as New England. Drawing from landed gentry rather than merchants, the company was dominated by its

Council for New England

Coureur de bois | Definition & Meaning

coureur de bois, French Canadian fur trader of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Most of the coureurs de bois traded illicitly (i.e., without the license required by the Quebec government). They sold brandy to First Nations peoples, which created difficulties for the nations with whom they

coureur de bois

Cyber Monday | Definition, Origin, & Black Friday

Cyber Monday, shopping holiday promoted by retailers as a day of savings and bargains for online customers. Cyber Monday falls on the Monday after Thanksgiving and its counterpart sales day, Black Friday. Cyber Monday has become a lucrative day for retail sales in the United States. The term Cyber

Cyber Monday

Default

For a bond, mortgage, auto loan, or other lending agreement, the borrower (“issuer,” in the case of a bond or other fixed-income security) is said to be “in default” if they fail to deliver a scheduled payment of interest and/or principal. It’s a major risk when investing in fixed-income

For a bond or other fixed-income security, the issuer is said to be “in default” if they fail to deliver a scheduled payment of interest or principal. The risk of default is a major consideration when investing in bonds and other fixed-income securities. 

default

German Railway

Deutsche Bahn AG | Railway Network, Intercity Travel, Logistics

Deutsche Bahn AG, the railway system of Germany created in 1994 by the merger of the Deutsche Bundesbahn (German Federal Railway), the state rail system in the former West Germany, with the Deutsche Reichsbahn (German State Railway), the state system in the former East Germany. At the time of

Deutsche Bahn AG

Dropshipping | Definition, Facts, Advantages, & Disadvantages

dropshipping, an e-commerce business model in which the vendor does not hold the product inventory but serves as an intermediary between the buyers and a third-party supplier. The dropshipping model became possible with the growth of online content and social media, which allow the vendor to reach

Dropshipping is an e-commerce business model in which the vendor does not hold the product inventory but serves as an intermediary between the buyers and a third-party supplier. The dropshipping model became possible with the growth of online content and social media, which allow the vendor to reach potential buyers and promote physical products online.

dropshipping

Duke and Peacock Records | Blues, Gospel & R&B

A decade before the ascendance of Motown, Houston’s Duke and Peacock record labels flourished as an African-American-owned company. Don Robey, a nightclub owner with reputed underworld connections, founded Peacock Records in 1949 and ran it with an iron hand. In 1952 Robey and James Mattias of Duke

Duke and Peacock Records

United East India Company, VOC, Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie

Dutch East India Company | Facts, History, & Significance

Dutch East India Company, trading company founded in the Dutch Republic (present-day Netherlands) in 1602 to protect that state’s trade in the Indian Ocean and to assist in the Dutch war of independence from Spain. The company prospered through most of the 17th century as the instrument of the

Dutch East India Company, trading company founded in the Dutch Republic (present-day Netherlands) in 1602 to protect that state’s trade in the Indian Ocean and to assist in the Dutch war of independence from Spain. The company prospered through most of the 17th century as the instrument of the Dutch commercial empire.

Dutch East India Company

West India Company, West-Indische Compagnie

Dutch West India Company | New Netherland, Colonization, Slavery

Dutch West India Company, Dutch trading company, founded in 1621 mainly to carry on economic warfare against Spain and Portugal by striking at their colonies in the West Indies and South America and on the west coast of Africa. While attaining its greatest success against the Portuguese in Brazil

Dutch West India Company

Dōmei Kaigi, Japanese Confederation of Labour, Zen Nihon Rōdō Sōdōmei

Dōmei | Japanese Trade Union, Workers’ Rights, Labour Movement

Dōmei, Japan’s second largest labour union federation until it disbanded in 1987. Dōmei was formed in 1964 by a merger of three politically moderate federations that opposed the leftist stance of the larger and more militant union Sōhyō. Unlike the majority of Sōhyō members, who were public

Dōmei

British East India Company, English East India Company, Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies, United Company of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies

East India Company | Definition, History, & Facts

East India Company, English company formed for the exploitation of trade with East and Southeast Asia and India, incorporated by royal charter on December 31, 1600. Starting as a monopolistic trading body, the company became involved in politics and acted as an agent of British imperialism in India

East India Company, English company formed in 1600 for the exploitation of trade with East and Southeast Asia and India. Starting as a monopolistic trading body, the company became involved in politics and acted as an agent of British imperialism in India from the early 18th century to the mid-19th century.

East India Company

EHarmony | online dating, matchmaking, compatibility

eHarmony, American company providing online personal-relationship and matchmaking services. Founded in 2000 by Neil Clark Warren, a clinical psychologist, eHarmony is based in Pasadena, Calif. The company aims to unite compatible individuals in long-term relationships via scientific methods. After

eHarmony

Société Nationale Elf Aquitaine

Elf Aquitaine | French Oil & Gas Corporation

Elf Aquitaine, former French petroleum and natural resources group that was acquired by Totalfina in 2000 to create TotalFinaElf, renamed Total SA in 2003. Elf Aquitaine was descended directly from two agencies established by the French state in the 1930s and ’40s to promote the country’s energy

Elf Aquitaine

Eli Lilly and Co. | Pharmaceuticals, Biomedical Research, & Company 

Eli Lilly and Company is one of the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical and biomedical companies, known for the development and manufacture of a wide range of prescription medications for humans and animals. Among its best-known products are Cialis, a treatment for erectile dysfunction;

Eli Lilly and Company is one of the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical and biomedical manufacturers. Its top products include antidepressant Prozac, erectile dysfunction medication Cialis, and diabetes medications Trulicity, Mounjaro, and Jardiance.

Eli Lilly and Company

EADS

European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS)

European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), major European aerospace company that builds commercial and military aircraft, space systems, propulsion systems, missiles, and other defense products. It was formed in 2000 from the merger of three leading European aerospace firms: Aerospatiale

European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company

EBRD

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), organization established in 1991 to develop a private business sector in the countries of central and eastern Europe after the collapse of communism in the region. The EBRD provides project financing for banks, industries, and businesses in

Banking & Business

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