The workers simply have a lot less leverage than you think. Globalization and automation has made work less scarce than labor. The pandemic reduced the supply of labor, and accordingly, wages for low-skill workers have skyrocketed, which proves that the market is working as intended.
Unions don't magically create leverage out of thin air. They steal it from those outside the union by constraining the the supply of labor. The most effective unions are those that do this to the greatest extent. For example, SAG-AFTRA forces productions to give speaking roles to union members and also restricts union eligibility to those that receive these speaking roles.
> Unions don't magically create leverage out of thin air. They steal it from those outside the union by constraining the the supply of labor.
That sounds like a perspective from one of Amazon's workplace signs. Union leverage is based on two things (off the top of my head, and afaik): significant control of the labor supply, and the political power of many votes and of many people to advocate for candidates. However, people can join the union; they aren't exclusive clubs.
Much of management's power comes from controlling the job supply and the political power of money, and they use that leverage to their advantage. When we live in a happy world where management stops doing that, I'll agree that unions shouldn't either.
> SAG-AFTRA forces productions to give speaking roles to union members and also restricts union eligibility
SAG does not force productions to do anything. The production can either use union or not use union. What they can't do is use cherry pick talent. Your best talent is going to be a SAG member. And since it's a union you either get all or none.
> They steal it from those outside the union by constraining the the supply of labor.
Can you explain how this works? In Europe Unions just represent the rights of those the Employer chose to hire. The employees are not required to be members of a Union, and usually they won't join until they have already started working.
Unions don't magically create leverage out of thin air. They steal it from those outside the union by constraining the the supply of labor. The most effective unions are those that do this to the greatest extent. For example, SAG-AFTRA forces productions to give speaking roles to union members and also restricts union eligibility to those that receive these speaking roles.