What is "goon squad"

n. (context chiefly US idiomatic English) A group of individuals serving as enforcers, bodyguards, and the like, especially persons hired for such a purpose and using violent, thuggish methods.

Goon Squad was a dance music group assembled by producer Arthur Baker. Their song " Eight Arms to Hold You" went to number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1985. The song was used for the movie The Goonies; although the main scene it was used in was deleted (it is still played, although barely audible, during the scene when Chunk first enters the Walsh's residence), it was nevertheless included on the soundtrack. The scene involved the Goonies being attacked by a giant octopus as they waded through underground tunnels. They defeat the octopus by throwing a walkman playing the song into its mouth, which causes it to start dancing. The scene was cut for being too cartoony. The group featured vocals from Will Downing, Craig Derry, Bobby Coleman, Tina B., Cindy Mizell

A follow-up single, "Powerdrill", peaked at number thirty-one.

A Goon squad is a group of thugs or mercenaries, commonly associated with anti-union or pro-union violence.

Goon Squad may also refer to:

• Goon Squad (band), a dance music group assembled by Arthur Baker in the mid-1980s
• "Goon Squad", 1979 song from the Elvis Costello album Armed Forces
• GOONs squad, Guardians of the Oglala Nation, a private paramilitary group active on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation during the early 1970s
• A Visit From the Goon Squad, 2010 novel by Jennifer Egan
• "Goon Squad", a song by Deftones from their 2012 album Koi No Yokan

Members- Elian Manzueta, Austin Davidson, Daniel Fee, Malik Khalid, Adam Benjoullon, Diondre Bolden.

In the United States, a goon squad is a group of criminals or mercenaries commonly associated with either pro-union violence or anti-union violence. In the case of pro-union violence, a goon squad may be formed by union leaders to intimidate or assault non-union workers, strikebreakers, or parties who do not cooperate with the directives of union leadership. In the case of anti-union violence, goon squads are traditionally hired by employers as an attempt at union busting, and resort to many of the same tactics, including intimidation, espionage, and assault.

During the labor unrest of the late 19th century in the United States, businessmen hired Pinkerton agent goon squads to infiltrate unions, and as guards to keep strikers and suspected unionists out of factories. One of the best known such confrontations was the Homestead Strike of 1892, in which Pinkerton agents were called in to enforce the strikebreaking measures of Henry Clay Frick, acting on behalf of Andrew Carnegie, who was abroad; the ensuing conflicts between Pinkerton agents and striking workers led to several deaths on both sides. The Pinkertons were also used as guards in coal, iron, and lumber disputes in Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania, as well as the Great Railroad Strike of 1877.

In some cases, corporations have been formed specifically to provide the services of goon squads. The Corporations Auxiliary Company was a corporation created to conduct "the administration of industrial espionage", providing goon squads and labor spies in exchange for payment. In 1921 the Corporations Auxiliary Company was known to masquerade under a dozen different names, and specialized at electing its agents to union office in order to control or destroy unions.