Even if your expertise in your fields results in you making 30% more than your peers, collective bargaining raises the base level. It sets a regional wage for

Even if your expertise in your fields results in you making 30% more than your peers, collective bargaining raises the base level. It sets a regional wage for a category of work that makes up the baseline pay for all other workers in that category in that region, you included. Without it, wages become a race to the bottom with companies all attempting to compete with each other on hiring workers for the lowest cost rather than the highest dependability.