[Nikas777]

In the USA the Unions turned to the Mafia for help against the Corporates hiring union busting thugs/Pinkertons because we had in this country a hands off approach by the govyt to these disputes (though sometimes the govt sided with business and other times with unions).

In Germany, thanks to the Christian Democratic model the govt acts like a referee between unions and business owners to make sure they reach an equitable agreement. Also, Europe has the tradition of guilds to influence how a union should view itself and behave.

[Tallguy]

In the USA the Unions turned to the Mafia for help against the Corporates hiring union busting thugs/Pinkertons because we had in this country a hands off approach by the govyt to these disputes (though sometimes the govt sided with business and other times with unions).

That's part of it. The other part -- the more recent part -- is that as successful unions accumulated vast sums of money in their retirement funds, it was bound to attract all manner of attention from the less savory elements of society, like the Mafia.