It is not recognized or registered with the NLRB, they don't merely not have a contract - they do not have the legal right to negotiate a contract either.
The technical term is a "minority union" all unions start as minority unions. It's the first part of a union's lifecycle. To register with the NRLB they need to reach a certain percentage of employees. 30% I believe is the correct number at which elections can be held. After a successful election then the NLRB can certify your Union as a collective bargaining representative. Collective bargaining is an NRLB process so you are right that until they reach the correct benchmark of members, hold an election, and get registered they can't participate in collective bargaining.
Minority Unions are still unions though. They are just new ones that have just started their lifecycle. They are a union but one without teeth.
Eh, I'm not sure that is an accurate description of what has happened.
"Minority unions" as AWU has structured itself are not a typical part of the "union's lifecycle" - usually a central union organization will organize a vote drive but at no point is it a "member's only"/minority union at the company. There are notable exceptions like UAW Local 42.
No one considers them a real union. It’s more of a social club of upper middle class people that want to pretend they are revolutionaries or something. People used to form bowling teams with coworkers. I guess this is the new version of that.
