Anyone who wonders why unions became a thing, this is why. Sure, the mechanisms that the robber barons of the 19th century used were different, but the basic aim was the same. More money for me, crumbs for you.
Well, to be fair, that is the drive of EVERY economic actor, right? If the pot is fixed, then giving more to YOU means less for me, whomever "you" and "me" are. That was the whole POINT of unions right? If one is going to assert that the objective of senior management at a for-profit company is "Screw the workers, more money for me.", then one has to admit that the objective of unions is "Screw management and the shareholders. More money for us."
It's really no different. What seems to work is finding a middle ground that balances the interests of the parties and thus allows long-term stability of the enterprise. The gig economy is so new, we're just beginning to figure out how that synthesis might look.
