I think it's also related to the fact that they operate in an incredibly hostile environment. A broad general union can not thrive, so the only ones that remai

I think it's also related to the fact that they operate in an incredibly hostile environment. A broad general union can not thrive, so the only ones that remain are those special interest unions that wield enormous power to extract rents by representing specialists/niches. In Germany you also have democratic elements in all firms above a certain size (workers councils, Betriebsrat). The whole cultural and legal framework is just different. Also compared to France for example.