I don't agree that individuals should be able to work if not in the union. The whole free rider principle definately is the reason.
Unionized workers have better benefits and pay compared to non-union workers. There's a benefit in working in business that bargains for a union. Generally the bargaining is for all workers not just union workers.
This is far from the truth, first unions take out of the employee's pocket money, called union dues. Second unions have been losing membership for decades. The only place left for unions is in government employ, and that because liberal legislators purchased their vote by giving the union what they wanted in exchange for their vote.
As for the protection of unproductive workers. Sure...I think that's a bad practice. I think honestly individual workers are the first to realize when someone doesn't carry their weight. Sure...union protections are good. Managers shouldn't be able to live as tyrants and hire and fire on a whim. I'm pretty sure that's the reasoning for contracts that have those protections. I do think overall it's not for the benefit of the managers or workers to protect unproductive workers.
Unions are extremely protective of your members, look at the teachers union, you cannot fire an incompetent, no good for nothing teacher. period. This was again all agreed to by liberals giving the unions what they wanted in exchange for their vote.
Wal-Mart has had negative PR for decades. That's exactly what a union does. The workers organize and with one voice state they will leave and publicly voice their opinions.
Walmart has not had negative PR. Walmart employees have not wanted a union, as a union will steal some of their money in union dues. There are people in line waiting for a job at Walmart and if it's employees are so abused they would try to unionize, but they don't want a union.
A job is much more important to a worker than a worker is to a boss. That's just truth. A worker is feeding his family with the paycheck. The worker is just replacable unskilled labor.
Here I agree with you. And why do they work at Walmart? It's because that's all Walmart needs is unskilled labor. Unskilled labor is all over the US, they are uneducated, unskilled, unreliable, many are elderly that can't get any other job, some mentally disabled that could not find a job other than Walmart, and many have no work ethic. Thus unskilled labor is glad to be hired by Walmart and have a job, and for the unreliable ones when they show up.
That power imbalance and the dying of unionized labor in this country is a big reson (in my view) of stagnant long term wages.
The power is in the individual and his/her skills they bring to the market place. You want to remain unskilled that is your individual choice, you want to drop out of school and not be educated, your choice. You don't like getting up and showing for work 5 days a week, you choice. You want to be a lazy bum at work, your choice. There's a reason there is unskilled labor in this country. The individual that develops his/her skills will advance, even at Walmart.