(Edited to clarify. Yes I acknowledge employers can be evil too, I assumed that was obvious.)
Organized cribs involvement started during McCarthyism in particular (red scares more generally). When socialists (with a rank and file power perspective) were driven out, the vacuum left was filled by mobsters (in some cases).
Is there a name for the logical fallacy where one knowingly misrepresents true statements to suggests things that aren't true? (ie that only unions used violence or had criminal ties).
It really, really fools people.
Low level violence is frequently applied by strike workers today. I once worked (white color job) for a shipping company and we had one strike every couple of years, sometimes more than one in a year (stevedore and sailors were both unionized so there would be two separate negotiations, each of which inevitably ended in a week or two week strike).
Try driving through a picket line of stevedores and see what happens to your car. Actually don't, you will regret it. If they think you are a scab, you will be punched.
If a hardcore unionist calls you a scab, be scared. Its the worst insult they know, and its backed by extreme hatred.
As far as organized crime violence goes, I have no experience with that. I always assumed that was Sopranos fiction.
Unionism has done good things, but I don't believe it has a place in a high tech industry. What Uber needs is solid competition so that drivers can simply defect to a competitor.
Uber is not in the tech industry, they're in the taxi industry, driving cars. This us/them elitism is the scourge of the tech industry. Just pray you don't become as expendable as the drivers are.
Since when was driving a car a high tech industry? Every industry uses high tech, but that doesn't mean they should be subjected to Silicon Valley's poor labor practices.
Striking drivers don't need to shut down Uber to cause major problems. If a significant fraction of the drivers withhold their labor, then Uber won't be able to meet all of the demand for rides. Prices will go up, which will be great for scabs. But higher prices and less reliable service will discourage customers, which hurts both Uber's brand and bottom line.