Hi, I'm from Belgium, and we have very strong unions here. There used to be a time when unions were necessary, but that time is long gone (at least here in Belgium). Our unions get extra money for each person on social welfare, and they are currently screwing our economy because the government tries to restore our countries competitiveness.
When the unions go on strike, they block public roads, denying cars and trucks to go to work, and force shops to close down. Don't believe me, see for yourself how a union lady forces a shop to close: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpVpn2-zOrs (french with dutch subtitles, sorry about that, but you will get the point). In the end the shop lady closed her shop.
Railroads, public transportation and postal offices have an average of 18 strike days a year.
Times have changed, if you don't like your job, quit and work for someone else. Don't like that? Quit and start your own (one-man) company.
And about your original question: unionization screws your economy so there are no jobs left. You lose your bargaining position because companies will look abroad to find workers willing to work.
When my dad went to work on his first day, he was there 15 minutes early, so he started to work when he arrived. A man came up to him and told him "It's not 9 o'clock yet, we don't start working before that". Everyone was standing behind their desks, doing nothing, just standing there, waiting for 9 o'clock. Want to screw your economy? Reduce productivity? Then go ahead and form unions.
About my dad, he worked his entire life at the same company, but because he had a different mindset than all of the other blue collar workers, he became a well-paid white collar worker, including company car etc, without ever being a manager.
What unions really do is put employees and employers as 'us vs them'. We do the least amount of work so you can pay us the least amount of money. Why not look at it as helping each other? A win-win? And if it's not a win-win anymore, find someone else.
