Originally Posted by
booze
Dunno how it works on your side of the pond, however after my recent experiences in a highly unionised airline in Iceland, which went bankrupt, by the way, my 2 cents are that I should've spent the union fees on entertainment because our's was one of the definite contributing factors to the above mentioned bankruptcy.
The owner of said airline was determined to run it based on Icelandic labour to the largest extent possible, recognising the social responsibility of a large local employer. It can easily be argued his insistence on running with organised and relatively high-cost labour, was a contributing factor to the demise.
A labour market without labour representation is, however, an open invitation to unscrupulous employers, which they will readily and willing exploit to the largest extent possible. Depending on the good-will of a company to maintain respectful and decent labour conditions is a fickle thing, and is in eternal jeopardy as senior management comes and goes. A formal relationship seems to be the best solution, albeit it - like democracy - may often be described as the least bad option.