One of the problems with the Union-Company relationship is that it's not long-term symbiotic. A union is apt to milk the cow dry. A company will put up with a

One of the problems with the Union-Company relationship is that it's not long-term symbiotic. A union is apt to milk the cow dry. A company will put up with a union as long as it has to but not longer. It's a contentious relationship. It need not be. The relationship could be more cooperative, but it isn't. Cooperative unions are seen as weak and accommodating. Companies that voluntarily unionize are at a disadvantage --they are less flexible and will eventually lose out to the non-unionized company, unless there is some kind of regulatory capture going on. We could kind of have our cake and eat it too if we became more protectionist and also modified the Union-Company relationship to be less contentious. If we prioritized the good of the American worker and society (to the disadvantage of other world economies) Wealth would be less unevenly distributed. Total wealth would decrease and efficiency would be reduced, but very likely we would have a happier American society but also likely a poorer international worker. Of course, this would also require strict immigration weighted more on ability rather than simple willingness to work for cheap.