sen8or: and this is one reason why I despise unions with a passion and think they should be relegated to the same place in history as the dodo, the moa and DVD shops. Everyone deserves fair pay and conditions, no question, ...

Unions tip the scales somewhat in favour of the employee. There exists an asymmetry of power & knowledge between the corporation and the individual. Remember, together we stand, divided we fall. Right out of the starting blocks, employees are at a disadvantage. They already are "many" instead of "one".

As to your comment about "fair pay and conditions". There are a lot of companies that do not provide fair pay and/or conditions. It's one of the reasons we have some people working three jobs & i.m.o, gig workers.
Like everything, there a few that spoil it for the rest of us & abuse the system for their own gain. That applies as much to corporations as to unions.

Here is an interesting story about unions & strikes: NPR's Planet Money - SPAM strikes back. ... workers are striking against a CEO they've never met, someone who likely makes close to 350 times their salary ...