The New Yorker has formed a union
Just for another data point:  I live in Idaho, which is a right-to-work state:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Right-to-work_law" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Right-to-work_law</a><p>Here we tend to call it right-to-work-for-less.  The gist of it is that employees aren&#x27;t compelled to pay union dues if their workplace pays union-negotiated wages.  If you think of union protections as something like a private form of OSHA, or say private car insurance, then opting out of paying for them while still receiving benefits is self-evidently not sustainable.  Not enough people pay (essentially the same as having too many scabs) so unions can&#x27;t maintain their bargaining power.  The end result is that there are almost no unions in Idaho.<p>My experience with this was when I was moving furniture as a non-technical day job in the early 2000s.  It was $10&#x2F;hr for warehouse work and $12+&#x2F;hr working for private truck drivers (you could negotiate your own rate).  But if you went across the border to Oregon (a non-right-to-work state), it was at least $15&#x2F;hr.  I had several drivers from California pay me $20&#x2F;hr for the same reason.<p>Our warehouse charged $34&#x2F;hr.  In a business where the work is done primarily by laborers, it&#x27;s hard to understand how it&#x27;s fair to pay them less than 1&#x2F;3 of gross income.  That&#x27;s because it&#x27;s not.  Many businesses here charge $75-100&#x2F;hr or more and pay their employees the going rate of $15&#x2F;hr.  The end result is that Idaho now has some of the highest wealth inequality in the nation:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.idahostatesman.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;business&#x2F;article209332734.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.idahostatesman.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;business&#x2F;article209332734...</a><p>I mention all of this because I get the feeling that non-right-to-work states are enjoying the benefits of unionization without realizing it.  It&#x27;s one thing to argue the nuances of liberty and another to make 1.5 to 2 times as much money (or more) and provide for yourself and your family.<p>Unionization isn&#x27;t about raising prices.  It&#x27;s about paying better wages so everyone is better off rather than one millionaire at the top.  I think of it as &quot;the person doing the lion&#x27;s share of the work should receive the lion&#x27;s share of the income&quot;.  I feel it&#x27;s important to really stress this on a site like Hacker News whose readership prides itself on being informed and rising above propaganda.