Unite Union Wins Gains forVulnerable Workers in New Zealand →
The Unite union in New Zealand is the country’s newest, and among its most dynamic, trade unions. It is at the forefront of a revitalization of a section of the labour movement in New Zealand that has resulted in thousands of young and marginalized workers gaining union representation for the first time and winning significant wage raises, including to the national minimum wage…
Unite uses a variety of tactics to win members. Staff and volunteers visit worksites and convince workers to sign membership cards. New Zealand law permits access to worksites by union organizers, though the latter still encounter threats and intimidation by employers, or worse. For example, on Friday, April 9, the British-owned Synovate company locked out 30 workers during first contract talks.
The next day, union members and supporters blockaded the entrance to the center. Unite announced flying pickets squads for the following week to target major companies in Auckland and Wellington that are clients of Synovate. A new collective agreement with the company was soon won.
Unite has led imaginative and militant strikes, including the world’s first strikes at the Starbucks coffee chain, in 2005, and short strikes at MacDonald’s outlets in 2006 and again in 2008.
