Unions seem like a good answer to increasing consolidation of businesses. Even in tech there has been wage/benefit reducing collusion/monopoly behavior.
Why are people so anti-union? Would opt-in collective bargaining work better?
Why are people so anti-union? Would opt-in collective bargaining work better?
Because big corporations hate unions, and big corporations run the US media and own most US politicians.
Many people alive today were not around to remember the beginning stage, they only read about it in history books, while they lived the end stage. It could be that simple.
Too many people just assumed workers financial situations would continue to improve without unions, which is not really turning out to be true.
Disclaimer: apart from my student and TA years, I have never been in unionized industry/hired by a corporation for a unionized position, so I may not know the full reality.
What freedom do you see as being limited?
In case someone isn't aware, a union shop, has a union that negotiates a contract with management. It sets wages, benefits, safety, all sorts of stuff. Most importantly, it negotiates for all workers at the shop. The reason why it negotiates for all workers (or more precisely all workers that qualify for union (e.g. all pilots, all janitors, all machinists, etc.) is that 1) it increases bargaining power, and 2) it simplifies things for the company. As a result, in a union shop, if you work there in a capacity that is union eligible, you're compelled to pay dues to union for the purposes of contract negotiating. (Dues for other purposes are not compelled.) Everyone benefits from the contract. Everyone pays to negotiate said contract.
"Right to work" laws say that you can't be compelled to pay dues to negotiate contracts, and yet you still benefit from the contracts. It's a legal carve out for free riders, with the purpose to starve unions of money and thus negotiating power. This isn't a side effect of this policy, it's its purpose. That's why you find pro-management groups and politicians advocating for these laws, while denigrating unions.
You realize that unions are cartels/monopolies on labor, right? You already recognize that monopolies distort markets, promote corruption and rent-seeking, and produce bad outcomes for society. Why would it be any different with unions?
They're no different than businesses that sell commodities other than labor.