new-york-state labor-law
Volunteer Labor Union in New York State
<p>In the state of New York, is it legal for a group of volunteers to form a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_unions_in_the_United_States" rel="nofollow noreferrer">labor union</a>?</p>
<p>If not clearly legal, is there anything that prohibits a labor union of volunteers?</p>
<h2>Clarifing edit</h2>
<p>I am specifically interested in a labor union, of volunteers supporting web sites.  The particular company I wonder about is headquartered in New York, it is <a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/q/338316/217279">SE and we are all the volunteers in question.</a></p>

<p>Yes.</p>

<p>The formation of a labor union -- or virtually any other group -- is permitted by the First Amendment, which protects your right to associate with other people and your right "peaceably to assemble."</p>

<p>As a group of volunteers, there would likely be meaningful barriers to its recognition for the purposes of enforcement of collective-bargaining laws. In that case, whatever organization the volunteers are serving would likely not have a duty to negotiate with the union, though it may still choose to do so.</p>
