Readit NewsIn Sweden (the largest industrial hub in Scandinavia), unions don't collectively negotiate wages with employers - they collectively set wages across an entire industry with the government and business management (think Syndicalism, which is the primary industrial philosophy in Europe compared to the US).
Also, blue collar membership has declined after the 2008 Financial Crisis dealt a killing blow to Volvo and Saab. Blue Collar union membership in Sweden peaked at 85% in the 1990s but has fallen to 59% in 2019.
Some American unions (primarily UAW and Teamsters) would have to fundamentally reform in order to act like European unions, and they would assuredly fight tooth and nail against such a change. Also, the kind of sector level salary negotiations common in Europe might fall foul of American collusion laws, and might anyhow be unpopular with local chapters (hypothetical example: if UAW and all major automotive manufacturers decided to set wages at South Carolina levels nationally, that would be a pay cut in the Midwest).
The characterization that they would eschew reform even when it would boost their popularity is not reflected in current events (certainly the managerial friendly unions of the past would avoid reforms)
It's objectively better to work in a unionized environment. Let's you be "lazier" and get away with half-asserey - great from the worker perspective but from the perspective of a prospective buyer, ideally your product is produced by people who work as hard as possible. The Japanese have a work-hard without half-assing attitude. This is why Toyota/Lexus have consistency the best build quality, stitching, etc in their cars. Their employees are mostly not unionized and not even paid particularly better than the American ones - but the Japanese work ethic is preserved.
This is also why "made in japan" toyota/lexus is prefereed to made in america/canada toyota/lexus.
Look at what's happening to GM, called Government Motors when they were bailed out, they seem to be headed down the same path US Steel is. Their thinking is broken
Or because to believe that propaganda as a "universal truth" it would mean unions are not self-interested entities (unlike businesses and people).
But the point is that we are all equally capable of being wrong. Especially when we step outside our area of expertise. CEOs are just another type of expert but their domain is organization. We have to consider the source’s experience relative to the domain in question before we can decide if their prediction is trustworthy.
They have to compete against other businesses to hire skilled positions.
They have to create an appealing enough opportunity to get people to apply and continue to work there.
Yes, but because they are a collective when they "purchase" skilled positions they are usually asking for more than one hire. Yes they are competing against other businesses, and the perspective hires are competing against the other hires. By the numbers, there are fewer businesses hiring then there are workers looking for that position. In other words, the businesses have more leverage then the workers in the form of purchasing power. The laws of supply and demand favor the business if there are no unions.
Edit: FYI: supply and demand for labor is equal when unemployment is at 0%.
I'm reading this as a sign of cultural stress unless we have evidence to the contrary. (EDIT: I didn't realise Fastmail has almost 1,000 employees, with many remote. That comes closer to where structure is merited, though I'd still argue that this points to dysfunction in the U.S.-HQ bridge given only the Americans are unionizing.)