A traditional union with collectively-bargained pay grades and seniority probably wouldn’t work in hi-tech but an even more traditional mediaeval style guild could work very well indeed.
Pay has not been an issue, but overwork has been, and so has the interview process. A union/guild backing could help with this.
It also takes some onus off the hiring team to ascertain the technical abilities of prospective hires. “Just get me a guild member!” Now you can interview on other qualities...
I'm not saying a traditional union is the Way, but tech workers as a whole are severely lacking a cohesive voice, any voice. The egregious hiring practices, which have been turned into a game at the highest levels, are symptoms of this madness. When was the last time a doctor had to bring Frankenstein's monster back from the grave with no tools while blindfolded? In tech, that's a fairly typical interview question.
It shows in the amount of overwork-related discussions, shrugged off as part of being a highly-paid, salaried employee. All the while, sharing on LinkedIn this great new shiny your company's CEO really, really wants people to see.