Anyone familiar with the history of the organized labor movement in the United States knows full well the enormous struggle that it took to get working men and women the most basic of rights that people today take for granted, union or non-union. Many of the pioneers of organized labor were massacred in cold blood by the very people who should have been protecting them. Before the existence of unions, the distribution of wealth in this country was absurdly lopsided. The living conditions of the average worker was, in many instances, horrific while the barons of industry lived in royal opulence.
Productivity always increases when morale is high and a positive working environment exists.
A prosperous working class is healthy. It keeps the economy growing by giving the average American purchasing power that in turn, fuels continued productivity. A strong union is essential if workers expect to share some of the benefits from the results of their labor. When a union loses strength, it loses the confidence of its membership and those adversarial individuals in high places who wouldn't mind making an extra buck if it meant that their employees lived in mud huts would do just that. A strong union is a buffer against employee abuse and social and economic regression.