I know the current attitude is against unions, and there are probably a lot of anti-union people on HN, for good reasons. Unions realized their power and became corrupt, became money-hungry, became power-hungry. Unions were one hand in the pot that bankrupted Detroit. And that's a shame, because now employees have literally no one watching their backs. At-will employment and an employer-friendly environment creates a hostile work place where employees of many companies never know when or why they're going to be fired.

Unions aren't entirely bad. Employers aren't entirely bad. It's just a shame we can't figure out a good balance of employer and employee protection.

It's a bit naive to believe that HR is about anything other than protecting the company.

Sure, employees have the side benefit of having someone to go to to answer questions about pay schedule, holidays, and benefits, but that's all it is: a side benefit. The real reason is to limit the company's legal exposure.