Working for a few years in a licensed field was very frustrating, so personally I’m glad not to work in a union. The entire system was based on tenure, so there’s limited opportunity to get ahead by working hard, you just have to wait your turn. Further, you are always at risk of losing your career if you speak out against the orthodoxy of the organization (licensing establishment in my case).
I want to see all workers paid better and everyone to have a good material life, regardless of whether they’re an all-star worker or entrepreneur. But to me it seems a better formula to get there is for companies to face fierce competition and firm anti-trust regulation to limit their power, and for individuals to have a robust social safety net that greatly reduces the risk of failure which increases their power.
As one example, in my experience as a small business owner, nothing causes me more stress than healthcare and ensuring my team has good coverage. But big companies have a huge advantage of scale and can provide this benefit much more efficiently than I can. At the same time, for workers in the US, the need for good healthcare gives employers tremendous power over employees, and deters many from taking on entrepreneurial risk. If we had quality universal health care in the US, I would expect that to result in meaningful wage increases and a lot of new business formation and competition, as it would represent a large shift of power from companies to individuals.