AFAIU an артель artelʼ usually did not engage in collective bargaining as such, so calling it a union is not really accurate; you might compare it to a guild but I think there’s no implicaton of a monopoly on a particular trade either. The most accurate description I can think of is perhaps a cooperative combined with a mutual insurance fund.
Agree, I might've stretched It a bit. Your descriptions is more accurate.
YEp, somewhat resemblance to Teamsters
Fun fact - this was painted about 8 to 10 years after the abolition of serfdom in the Russian Empire. Coincidentally, it happened two years prior to the US Emancipation Proclamation. I've wondered from time to time how linked the two events were, if at all.
they were not slaves, but something like Russian Teamsters