ABSTRACT
Under United States labor law, workers who want to unionize must first approach their employer to request recognition. If workers can show majority support, either through signed authorization cards or other evidence, employers may voluntarily recognize the union. Recognition is also the point when a union campaign can become antagonistic, a reminder that unionization is, ultimately, about confronting class relations. Recognition has required that organizers shift communication strategies from inward-focused activities to outward-facing expressions of solidarity and support aimed at fostering “cultures of solidarity.” Organizers pitch their responses at a more positive register, emphasizing solidarity, care, and collective power. From wearing union buttons at meetings to “walking out” to eat lunch together in a visible spot in the newsroom, workers’ recognition strategies aim to build cultures of solidarity, or space to experience “the values, practices, and institutional manifestations of mutuality.”
