This study examines the emergence and development of trade unions in tea plantations in Kerala, India. The study explores the early trade union activities, the socio-political environment that contributed to the growth of the trade union movement, and the major trade unions that emerged and evolved. Specifically, the study focuses on trade union activities in Wayanad and how workers resisted the control of colonial masters and plantation owners to organize themselves into unions. The study found that trade union activities began in the high ranges through the Congress-led trade union INTUC, which later split to form the AITUC trade union due to differences in opinion. The AITUC became the most vital trade union across plantations in Kerala when the Communist Party of India (CPI) came to power in 1957. The formation of the Communist Party of India Marxist (CPIM) in 1964 resulted in the emergence of the Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU), and many AITUC members became part of CITU.