Union mobilization and employer counter-mobilization in the statutory recognition process

The statutory recognition procedure, introduced under the Employment Relations Act (ERA) in June 2000, is succeeding in providing union recognition where the majority of the workforce wants it – in most cases. Yet recognition ballots held under the procedure are proving an area of uncertainty, with unions losing over a third of ballots ordered by the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) in the first three years. In this chapter I explore the roles played by union organizing and employer behaviour in the outcome of statutory recognition ballots.