A recognition strike is an industrial strike

Strike action

Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...

 implemented in order to force a particular employer or industry to recognize a trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 as the legitimate collective bargaining

Collective bargaining

Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...

 agent for a company's workers. They were more common in North America prior to the advent of modern labor law which usually has a process which legally compels an employer to recognize a union that has been properly certified and thus shown that it has the support of the workers in a specific bargaining unit.

See U.S. Steel Recognition Strike of 1901

U.S. Steel Recognition Strike of 1901

The U.S. Steel Recognition Strike of 1901 was an attempt by the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers to reverse its declining fortunes and organize large numbers of new members. The strike failed....