A union is a way for a group of people to negotiate a better deal than an individual could expect to receive on their own. Its like how group rates are lower in health care than individual rates.
Critics argue that unions extort money from corporations, and that the employees need to prove their value in order to earn higher wages, but the question is whom should set and/or determine a value..in dollar terms?
At my store, we are already working harder and increasing our value per hour. There is no reason for us to make less than we do now. The next step will be to bring the lesser paid workers up to par with the higher paid workers. That is plan B, and I seek to get appointed to the committee that will help draw up the 2013 contract proposal.