Unemployment and job search go together, and job search is vital for prosperity. If the real wage is too low, then each employer can get richer by raising wages a little bit and attracting more workers. When workers' productivity is low, employers won't pay a lot to hire them. Immigration restrictions are also a big part of the explanation for why wages can be so much lower in some countries than in Western countries. Otherwise, many would move to get higher wages.
Real wages can go up, but employment goes down.
The same holds for unions. Worker productivity has to increase. Basics of the U.S. tax code. From the point of view of workers, labor income taxation is equivalent to a decline in Aggregate Labor Demand. Adult males may be unlikely to quit their jobs, but especially if high tax rates persist, they may decide to go into fun careers that produce relatively little for others instead of less fun careers that produce more for others.