I worked in a very large company, around thirty years ago, as a technical writer. Since I worked in an office, I was not part of a union. The union workers were all the people who worked in the factory. This company built “top of the line” materials handling equipment like forklift trucks, straddle carriers, etc. I wrote over 100 technical manuals in the sixteen years while employed there.
When I first went to work in that company and all the way through my employment, management did their best to make that company a fine organization. What finally brought that company down, to where it could no longer compete it their industry, was not because the products were not competitive, it was the union.
The union kept putting more and more demands on that company, for higher wages and more benefits, to the point where management gave up and sold out to another company. As a result of this, most of those workers lost their jobs including me.
Unions are a very important part of the work force in America. I would be the last person to say, get rid of unions. Unions are necessary to keep companies from taking advantage of the workers, but when unions get too powerful and make unreasonable demands on companies, this throws the balance of power too far the other way.
Any employee, of any company, should have the right to either join a union or NOT join a union and should have no fear of reprisals from any person for making either choice.