An independent union is a union that represents workers in one plant or company and is free of employer control. (This includes a union representing workers in more than one plant located in two or more states but employed by the same employer.) A national independent union is a union of a national character not affiliated with the AFL or CIO; a local independent union is one of a local character not affiliated with the international union having jurisdiction over that branch of industry.

Further reading

• A Road Not Taken: Independent Local Unions in the United States Since 1935. Sanford M. Jacoby. In Nonunion Employee Representation By Bruce E. Kaufman, Daphne Gottlieb Taras