Workmen's Circle (Yid. Arbeiter Ring), U.S. socialistically and culturally oriented Jewish fraternal order; organized in 1900 for the twofold purpose of providing its members with mutual aid, health, and death benefits, and other fraternal services, and of supporting the labor and socialist movements throughout the world. Dedicated to the promotion of progressive Yiddish culture, the Workmen's Circle developed a broad spectrum of cultural activities, consisting of publication of books, promotion of adult education, sponsorship of singing and dramatic clubs, etc. In 1916 it entered the field of Jewish education by opening afternoon schools for Jewish children: they have since become the largest network of Jewish secular schools in the United States. In the U.S., where no socialist party of any consequence exists, it is today one of the most important repositories of socialist sentiment and has been a decisive factor in defeating Communist ambitions in the Jewish environment.

During its early period, the leadership of the Workmen's Circle shared the assimilationist-cosmopolitan attitudes of the founders of the Jewish labor movement in America. Later, Bundist conceptions had greatest influence in its governing bodies, although many individual branches adhered to other movements. A marked turn in the ideological direction of the Workmen's Circle took place with the rise of the State of Israel, of which it has been a staunch supporter since inception. A founder and leader of the People's Relief Committee during World War I years, it has been the backbone of the Jewish Labor Committee since 1934. It also spearheaded the formation of the Congress for Jewish Culture in 1948.