A labor dispute is a disagreement between an employer and employees regarding the terms of employment. This could include disputes regarding conditions of employment, fringe benefits, hours of work, tenure, and wages to be negotiated during collective bargaining, imposed through interest arbitration, or the implementation of already agreed upon terms. It could further concern the association or representation of those who negotiate or seek to negotiate the terms or conditions of employment.

Preventing labor disputes involves coordinating actions at multiple levels, including:

Through the multi-channel and multi-level promotion of policies and regulations to ensure that the employer knows the law, workers' rights activists should know how to deal with the social and cultural environment.

In countries such as the US, the workforce can form unions, strike and collectively bargain with employers. The workers have the right to speak up about employment conditions.

Mediation is one technique for resolving labor disputes. In mediation, the parties meet and seek to resolve their differences. A neutral party attempts to help the disputants to find a mutually acceptable solution.

Some jurisdictions permit fact finding as a way to resolve labor disputes. It is a formalized process and extension of collective bargaining. A fact finder makes findings and recommendations, but is not empowered to impose a contract.

Arbitration vests the responsibility of the outcome in the person chosen to be the arbitrator. Each side presents their case, but the resolution does not require agreement from either party.

In some jurisdictions, interest arbitration is available for selected employers and bargaining units (e.g. Police, Fire, Public Safety). Likewise, under the terms of the United States Railway Labor Act, there can be resort to such a panel. Interest arbitration is defined as: