I think you may be talking beyond your knowledge here. Unions in the Nordics are incredibly strong with clear majorities in at least Denmark and Sweden (I'll let someone else chime in on Norway).
There are no comic book mafia labour unions with no show contracts, but employees’ rights in Austria are monumentally better in almost every way compared to the US.
Just look how useless the IT union in Austria was with it's salary increases below inflation. You know what would have helped with their negotiations? The right to strike and let IT infra fall apart for a day, but oh wait, they're not allowed to by law. Unions in the US are a lot more confrontational than in Austria.
But since you opened that can of worms, some companies in Austria will fire you on the spot if you talk about starting a company union(Betreibsrat) because in Austria you have no workers protection against being fired for no reason, even while you're on sick leave.
Even colleagues from the US were shocked on how easy it is for them to get fired here when back home they could have sued for unfair dismissal, but here they were told they have no grounds because the employer can terminate you any time for any reason. Another mate, got sued by his employer since the IT infra he was in charge of crashed while he was sick in hospital and the employer could find him liable for the damages by Austrian labor law. In Austria, not the US. And let's not talk about the infamous 'all-in' contracts some companies use to get you to work unpaid overtime.
Now tell me more about these amazing workers' rights in Austria.
Oh and did you hear about the new US specialty of "unlimited vacation"? It is more or less the canceling of your vacation as every vacation you take will be used against you.
I fear you have no idea what a safe haven of a country you seem to be working in.