China's socialist construction has entered a new period,and labor unions,as an important social pillar of state power,have undergone a new transformation in the performance of their functions.The essence of labor unions in institutes is trade unions of the industry,and its fundamental function is to build bridges and links for effective communication and solution of problems of teachers and staff,to promote the benign development of institutes while fully safeguarding the rights and interests of the staff,to create harmonious labor relations,and to provide assistance and support for the socialist modernization.