Several thousand new trade union recognition agreements have been signed since 1997, representing a major development within industrial relations in Britain. This has resulted from the interaction of union organizing efforts and the statutory union recognition provisions of the Employment Relations Act 1999. However for trade unions recognition alone is not enough, a vital issue is whether, having gained union recognition, trade unions are now effectively delivering upon the promises and prospects of union recognition.
The essays in "Union Recognition examine the substantive outcomes of the new agreements in regard to union representation and collective bargaining. In particular, the impact on terms and conditions of employment, employers' behavior and strategy, the nature of the union-management bargaining relationship, and the building of workplace unionism are explored. While the collection focuses primarily on Britain, the germane issues are also looked at in the context of Australia, Canada and the US. Conceptually and theoretically, "Union Recognition offers contributions which develop our understanding of the relationship between workplace and national unionisms and of mobilization theory.

List of Illustrations List of Contributors Acronyms Foreword 1. Introduction 2. Working With Dinosaurs? 3. Union Organising Under Certification Law in Britain 4. Organising and Diversity in Banking and Insurance 5. As a Phoenix Arisen? 6. The Nature of Collective Bargaining Achieved Through the Statutory Procedure 7. The National Union of Journalists and the Provincial Newspaper Industry 8. Union Recognition in Asian Workplaces 9. Two Strategies, Two Divides 10. The Transition from Organising to Representation 11. Does the Organising Means Determine the Bargaining Ends? 12. Collective Bargaining Performance of Newly Certified Unions in Canada 13. Recognition, Bargaining and Unions in Australia 14. Conclusion References