The jump in union wage increases is certainly good news for workers. At its current growth rate, higher inflation is not yet a major threat to workers' living standards. But if the upward trend continues, many workers will start to see a loss of purchasing power as their wages fall behind. Unlike their nonunion counterparts, union workers are able to bargain collectively for bigger wage increases in times of higher inflation. And, of course, the market always favors the lowest wages employers can set.
Unions remain the only real choice for workers to get back some of that power.