[lmm]

> I also don't think that people should all get the same pay or collectively bargain. Some people work harder, invest more in their skills, bring a better attitude, etc. They should get paid more.

It would be nice if fair pay magically happened. But the reality is that most employers will pay you as little as they can get away with, regardless of how hard you work, how much you invested in your skills, or how good your attitude.

Most people are much smaller than the company they work for, are not expert negotiators, and don't have agents working on their behalf. They're overwhelmingly likely to get paid closer to what they deserve with a union than without one. Yes, sometimes there will be free riders (and that's part of why e.g. legal closed shop rules are important), but that applies to virtually everything you can do to try and improve your life.