> companies would rather make some money than no money, so presumably they would stay in business if the union wages are worth it. This is overly simplistic.

> companies would rather make some money than no money, so presumably they would stay in business if the union wages are worth it. This is overly simplistic. Companies in a secure position are also sometimes prepared to take a loss for a while, in order to undercut a competitor until the competitor is forced to leave the market and prices can be put back up again for long term-gain. For the exact same reason, a company could decide to close a profitable outlet (with an eye to re-opening or replacing at some time in the future) in order to make sure that unionization does not take hold.