[C0mm0nS3ns3]

To me this sounds weird. I'm from Eastern Europe, no strong unions there by the way so it must be a West/North Europe kind of thing. I understand unions fighting for people who joined a union. But if I purposefully don't join a union cause I don't believe unions are good for the industry (I don't, but this is a hypothetical) why does the union have the power to create a "collective agreement" that affects me? Who gave them that right? I definitely didn't.

Actually because of unions in Germany (where I currently work) it's really really hard to get a raise even if you're a top performer. Say I am 2x faster than anyone in my factory. I cannot go to my employer and ask for a raise. They will say: "Well, this is already discussed with unions. You're in the company for X years, this is your salary range. Work extra hours if you want more money". So all I can do is not work 2x as fast as everyone... waste time, and do extra hours so I can earn more. Waste of time. Without an union I could have negotiated my own salary based on my own merits and earn the same money I earn with the extra time in normal time cause I am efficient.

So unions are not some holy grail. They come with drawbacks. And I find it wrong that a union I am purposefully not part of decides my salary. That makes no sense to me.

[InCityDreams]

Let's say the union mandates 2 breaks a day$ unpaid lunch and max 6 day-consecutive work weeks. But not you.

[C0mm0nS3ns3]

That's fine. I can negotiate my own breaks and days of work. Maybe I need 1 break and I want to work the full week cause I need the money. If I want what the union is offering, I can always join the union, then I get the union "package". But if I don't, then leave me alone. I am a grown human, I can negotiate my own package.

[bogantech]

What the unions really mandate: a pay increase that might match inflation if you're lucky.