Professional Association and Labor Union Abbreviations
95 abbreviations · part of Organization & Company Abbreviations
Abbreviations for professional societies, trade associations, standards bodies and labor unions in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. Professional associations set ethics codes, publish journals, write standards and lobby for their members, while unions bargain collectively over wages and working conditions. Entries give the full name, founding year, headquarters and what each body is best known for.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| AAAS | American Association for the Advancement of Science | International scientific society that publishes the journal Science and its sister journals, advocates for science policy and runs fellowship programs placing… |
| AAFP | American Academy of Family Physicians | National association of family doctors, residents and medical students, which advocates for primary care, offers continuing education and publishes the journal American… |
| AAMC | Association of American Medical Colleges | Organization representing accredited medical schools, teaching hospitals and academic societies in the United States and Canada. |
| AAP | American Academy of Pediatrics | Professional association of pediatricians that issues widely followed guidance on children's health, from vaccination and safe sleep to screen time and car seats, and… |
| AAUP | American Association of University Professors | Organization of college and university faculty that defends academic freedom and shared governance and investigates violations, placing administrations on its censure… |
| ABA | American Bar Association | Largest voluntary professional association of lawyers in the United States, founded in 1878 in Saratoga Springs, New York, and headquartered in Chicago. |
| ACA | American Counseling Association | Professional organization of counselors in mental health, school, rehabilitation and other settings, which publishes the ACA Code of Ethics followed by licensed… |
| ACC | American College of Cardiology | Professional society of cardiologists and cardiovascular care teams, founded in 1949 and based in Washington, D.C. |
| ACM | Association for Computing Machinery | World's largest scientific and educational computing society, which publishes journals and conference proceedings, sponsors special interest groups such as SIGGRAPH and… |
| ACOG | American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists | Professional membership organization for obstetricians and gynecologists that issues clinical practice guidance on pregnancy, childbirth, contraception and women's… |
| ACP | American College of Physicians | Largest medical specialty organization in the United States, representing internists, internal medicine subspecialists and trainees, and publishing the Annals of… |
| ACS | American Chemical Society | Scientific society for chemistry, one of the world's largest, which publishes dozens of journals, including the Journal of the American Chemical Society, and operates… |
| ADA | American Dental Association | Largest professional association of dentists in the United States, which sets ethical standards, publishes research and awards the ADA Seal of Acceptance to… |
| AFA | Association of Flight Attendants-CWA | Largest union of flight attendants in the United States, representing cabin crews at about 20 airlines, and an affiliate of the Communications Workers of America. |
| AFGE | American Federation of Government Employees | Largest union of federal government employees, representing hundreds of thousands of workers at agencies such as the VA, Defense Department, Social Security… |
| AFL-CIO | American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations | Largest federation of labor unions in the United States, made up of about 60 national and international unions representing more than 12 million workers. |
| AFSCME | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees | One of the largest public-sector unions in the United States, representing about 1.4 million workers in state and local government, health care, child care and other… |
| AFT | American Federation of Teachers | Second-largest US teachers' union, representing teachers, paraprofessionals, school-related personnel, higher education faculty, nurses and public employees, with about… |
| AHA | American Hospital Association | National trade association representing thousands of hospitals, health systems and networks, which lobbies Congress and federal agencies on hospital payment and… |
| AIA | American Institute of Architects | Professional organization for architects in the United States, which sets ethics standards, publishes the AIA contract documents widely used in construction and awards… |
| AIAA | American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics | Aerospace engineers' and scientists' society, which publishes technical journals, develops standards and holds major conferences on aviation, space and defense. |
| AIChE | American Institute of Chemical Engineers | Professional society for chemical engineers, which publishes technical journals, offers training and operates the Center for Chemical Process Safety, created after the… |
| AICPA | American Institute of Certified Public Accountants | National professional organization for certified public accountants in the United States, with more than 400,000 members worldwide. |
| ALA | American Library Association | Oldest and largest library association in the world, which accredits master's programs in library science, promotes intellectual freedom and literacy, and sponsors… |
| ALPA | Air Line Pilots Association, International | Largest airline pilots' union in the world, representing pilots at dozens of US and Canadian airlines, which bargains contracts and advocates on aviation safety. |
| AMA | American Medical Association | Largest association of physicians and medical students in the United States, which publishes JAMA, maintains the AMA Code of Medical Ethics and the CPT coding system… |
| AMS | American Mathematical Society | Society of research mathematicians that publishes journals and books, runs the MathSciNet database of mathematical research and awards prizes such as the Steele and… |
| ANA | American Nurses Association | Professional organization representing the interests of the nation's registered nurses, which publishes the Code of Ethics for Nurses and, through its credentialing… |
| ANSI | American National Standards Institute | Private nonprofit that coordinates the US voluntary standards system, accrediting the organizations that write standards and approving them as American National… |
| AOA | American Optometric Association | Professional association of doctors of optometry in the United States, which advocates for eye care, sets clinical guidelines and awards a Seal of Acceptance to eye… |
| APA | American Psychological Association (style) | Names the citation and formatting style of the American Psychological Association, used across psychology, education, nursing, business and the social sciences. |
| APhA | American Pharmacists Association | Largest association of pharmacists in the United States, which advocates for the profession, offers training and certification programs and publishes the Journal of the… |
| API | American Petroleum Institute | Trade association for the US oil and natural gas industry, which lobbies on energy policy and develops widely used technical standards for equipment and operations, as… |
| APS | American Physical Society | Leading US society of physicists, which publishes the Physical Review journals, including Physical Review Letters, and holds major physics meetings each year. |
| APWU | American Postal Workers Union | Labor union representing postal clerks, maintenance workers, motor vehicle employees and other US Postal Service workers who handle mail in post offices and processing… |
| ASA | American Society of Anesthesiologists | Physician organization for anesthesiologists that sets practice standards and guidelines for anesthesia and perioperative care. |
| ASCE | American Society of Civil Engineers | Oldest national engineering society in the United States, which develops codes and standards and publishes the Report Card for America's Infrastructure, grading roads… |
| ASHA | American Speech-Language-Hearing Association | Professional association for speech-language pathologists, audiologists and speech and hearing scientists, which awards the Certificate of Clinical Competence required… |
| ASHRAE | American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers | Global society that develops standards for building heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration, including Standard 90.1 on energy efficiency and 62.1 on… |
| ASME | American Society of Mechanical Engineers | Professional society founded in 1880 that publishes key engineering codes and standards, most famously the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC), along with standards… |
| ASTM | ASTM International | Standards organization, founded in 1898 as the American Society for Testing and Materials, that publishes more than 12,000 voluntary consensus standards for materials… |
| AVMA | American Veterinary Medical Association | Professional association of veterinarians in the United States, which accredits veterinary colleges, sets ethical standards and publishes the Journal of the American… |
| BMA | British Medical Association | Professional association and registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom, which negotiates pay and contracts with the NHS and publishes The BMJ. |
| CLC | Canadian Labour Congress | National federation of Canadian unions, representing about three million workers through affiliated national and international unions, provincial federations and local… |
| CTA | Consumer Technology Association | Trade association for the consumer technology industry, which owns and produces CES, the large technology trade show held in Las Vegas each January, and develops… |
| CUPE | Canadian Union of Public Employees | Largest union in Canada, representing workers in health care, education, municipalities, libraries, universities, social services, utilities and airlines. |
| CWA | Communications Workers of America | Bargains for workers in telecommunications, media and journalism, airlines, manufacturing, public service, technology and video games in the United States, Canada and… |
| DGA | Directors Guild of America | Union of film and television directors, assistant directors, unit production managers and other members of directorial teams. |
| FINRA | Financial Industry Regulatory Authority | Private self-regulatory organization, overseen by the SEC, that writes and enforces rules for US broker-dealers and their registered representatives. |
| FOP | Fraternal Order of Police | Largest organization of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States, representing members through local lodges in collective bargaining and lobbying on police… |
| GMB | GMB | One of the UK's largest general trade unions, representing workers in public services, social care, retail, logistics, energy, manufacturing and the gig economy. |
| IAFF | International Association of Fire Fighters | Union of professional firefighters and emergency medical workers in the United States and Canada, which advocates on firefighter health, staffing and pensions. |
| IAM | International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers | Union covering workers in aerospace, airlines, railroads, manufacturing, automotive service and government in North America, including tens of thousands of Boeing… |
| IATSE | International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees | Labor union representing behind-the-scenes entertainment workers, including stagehands, camera operators, editors, makeup artists, costume designers and set builders… |
| IBEW | International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers | Represents electricians and other workers in construction, utilities, telecommunications, manufacturing, railroads and government in the United States and Canada. |
| IBT | International Brotherhood of Teamsters | Union of more than a million workers in freight, delivery, warehousing, airlines, public services and other industries in the United States and Canada, including… |
| IEEE | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers | World's largest technical professional organization, with hundreds of thousands of members, which publishes journals and conference papers in electrical engineering and… |
| ILA | International Longshoremen's Association | Union of the dockworkers who load and unload cargo at ports on the US East and Gulf coasts, as well as in Puerto Rico and Eastern Canada. |
| ILWU | International Longshore and Warehouse Union | Represents dockworkers at West Coast ports in the United States, as well as in Hawaii and British Columbia, along with warehouse and other workers. |
| MBA | Mortgage Bankers Association | Trade association of the real estate finance industry, representing mortgage lenders and servicers, that publishes a weekly survey of mortgage applications closely… |
| MLA | Modern Language Association (style) | Names the citation and formatting style published by the Modern Language Association of America, widely used in high schools and in literature, language and humanities… |
| MPA | Motion Picture Association | Trade association of major US film and streaming studios, which lobbies for the industry and runs the voluntary film rating system (G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17) through… |
| NAB | National Association of Broadcasters | Trade association representing US radio and television broadcasters, which lobbies on spectrum, ownership rules and copyright and organizes the annual NAB Show in Las… |
| NAHB | National Association of Home Builders | Trade association representing home builders, remodelers and related firms, which lobbies on housing policy and publishes a monthly index of builder confidence. |
| NALC | National Association of Letter Carriers | Represents city letter carriers employed by the US Postal Service, bargaining with USPS and organizing the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive. |
| NAM | National Association of Manufacturers | Largest manufacturing trade association in the United States, representing manufacturers of all sizes in every industrial sector and lobbying on taxes, trade, energy… |
| NAR | National Association of Realtors | Largest trade association in the United States, representing real estate agents and brokers, which owns the trademark "Realtor", sets a code of ethics and publishes… |
| NASW | National Association of Social Workers | Largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world, which publishes the NASW Code of Ethics, offers credentials and advocates for social… |
| NCSL | National Conference of State Legislatures | Bipartisan organization serving the legislators and staff of the state legislatures, providing research on state laws and policy and representing state interests in… |
| NEA | National Education Association | Largest labor union in the United States, representing public school teachers, education support professionals, college faculty and retired educators, with about three… |
| NEU | National Education Union | Largest education union in the UK, representing teachers, school leaders and support staff in England and Wales, which negotiates on pay, workload and funding. |
| NFIB | National Federation of Independent Business | Advocacy organization for small and independent businesses, which lobbies in Washington and state capitals and publishes the monthly NFIB Small Business Optimism Index. |
| NFPA | National Fire Protection Association | US nonprofit organization, founded in 1896, that develops hundreds of fire, electrical and building safety codes and standards adopted by governments worldwide. |
| NGA | National Governors Association | Bipartisan organization of the governors of the 55 US states, territories and commonwealths, which shares policy research and represents states' views to the federal… |
| NRF | National Retail Federation | Largest retail trade association in the world, representing department stores, specialty and online retailers, grocers and restaurants, and publishing forecasts of… |
| NSPE | National Society of Professional Engineers | Organization representing licensed professional engineers across disciplines, which advocates for engineering licensure and publishes the NSPE Code of Ethics for… |
| PhRMA | Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America | Trade association representing major research-based drug companies, and one of the largest lobbying spenders in Washington, which advocates on drug pricing, patents and… |
| PMI | Project Management Institute | Global professional organization for project management, which administers the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification and publishes A Guide to the Project… |
| RCN | Royal College of Nursing | Professional body and trade union for nurses, midwives, health care assistants and nursing students in the United Kingdom, which negotiates pay and promotes nursing… |
| RIAA | Recording Industry Association of America | Trade group representing US record labels, best known for certifying gold (500,000 units), platinum (1 million) and diamond (10 million) records and for anti-piracy… |
| RMT | National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers | UK trade union representing workers on railways, London Underground, buses, shipping and offshore energy, known for strikes over pay, jobs and safety. |
| SAE | SAE International | Global association of engineers and technical experts in automotive, aerospace and commercial vehicle industries that develops standards, including the motor oil… |
| SAG-AFTRA | Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists | Performers' union of about 160,000 actors, broadcasters, recording artists, voice-over performers, stunt performers and other media professionals in the United States. |
| SEIU | Service Employees International Union | Labor union of about two million workers in health care, home care, building services such as janitors and security officers, and public services in the United States… |
| SHRM | Society for Human Resource Management | Largest professional association for human resources practitioners, which offers the SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP certifications, publishes HR research and guidance and… |
| SPJ | Society of Professional Journalists | Organization of journalists that promotes ethical journalism and press freedom, best known for the SPJ Code of Ethics, built on the principles "seek truth and report… |
| TUC | Trades Union Congress | Federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing about 5.5 million workers through dozens of affiliated unions, which campaigns on pay, employment rights… |
| UAW | United Auto Workers | Union of workers in the auto, aerospace and agricultural equipment industries, as well as graduate student workers, health care and public employees, in the United… |
| UCU | University and College Union | UK trade union representing academics, lecturers, researchers and support staff in universities, further education colleges and adult education. |
| UFCW | United Food and Commercial Workers International Union | Labor union of about 1.2 million workers in grocery stores, retail, meatpacking, food processing, cannabis and health care in the United States and Canada. |
| UFW | United Farm Workers | Labor union of agricultural workers founded by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, known for the Delano grape strike and national consumer boycotts that won the first… |
| UMWA | United Mine Workers of America | Coal miners' union, which also represents workers in other industries and is known for its long history of fighting for mine safety, health benefits and pensions. |
| UNITE HERE | UNITE HERE | Labor union representing workers in hotels, casinos, food service, airports, laundries and stadiums in the United States and Canada, including Las Vegas's Culinary… |
| USW | United Steelworkers | Industrial union whose members work in metals, paper and forestry, rubber and tires, oil refining, chemicals, health care, public sector and other industries in the… |
| WGA | Writers Guild of America | Labor union of film, television, radio and online media writers in the United States, organized as two affiliated unions, Writers Guild of America West and Writers… |