Because they had to fight so hard to exist at all here, and were often brutalized by police and/or private thugs, and the memories linger, making them fight for

Because they had to fight so hard to exist at all here, and were often brutalized by police and/or private thugs, and the memories linger, making them fight for everything they can get. In Germany and Scandinavia, most of the unions seem to see their relationship with employers more as a partnership than a zero-sum competition.