A great many people (rightly or wrongly) think the unions have done a lot of damage to US heavy industry (auto and steel, mostly) by demanding unreasonably high

A great many people (rightly or wrongly) think the unions have done a lot of damage to US heavy industry (auto and steel, mostly) by demanding unreasonably high wages and benefits. Labor-management relations in the US seem to be more contentious than in other countries. When the company is on top it uses labor arbitraging to keep the union from having any power at all. When the union gets the upper hand you end up with crazy work rules and benefits, sometimes forcing the company out of business altogether. From what I can tell there are countries where the unions think about the health of the golden goose, and where the management tries to work with the union instead of breaking it. The US isn't one of them.