I’m in the northwest and in Oregon and Washington it wasn’t like that at all.
We envied the non-union competitors - their employees were loyal to their employer, not the union, and their men were happy. We, as a union employer, had to bribe our employees to do a decent job. The prize every year was a week long trip to Hawaii for 2. We also paid out a lot of bonuses based on performance. If we didn’t do that our hourly average (income per man per hour) sank because the employees had no incentive - as they saw it - other than their extremely comfortable living - to do a decent job.
From my perspective the unionization of employers will just raise prices but not quality. Just what we don’t need.
After very many years of most flavors of working on boats, including over 2 years of school developing my boat carpentry skills, I applied at Nordlund, who built very large yachts and "Superyachts". I'd been enamored with their boats for many years.
Besides the fact that I was offered less per hour than my son was making after 2 months on the job doing landscaping 20 miles and a toll closer to home, Union Rules dictated that should I ever cease my employment with Nordlund for any reason, I could not ever work for any other employer as a boat carpenter in Washington State.
I knew very well what a "Non Compete" contract was, having challenged one before, and the fact that a yacht builder I had been so proud of as "one of ours" as a local builder of really big art would defile themselves so as to consider imposing that on a tradesman reversed my respect for that builder 180 degrees.
The fact that the union, not the company decided when/if I was to get a raise was another deal killer.