Well it has to happen please except productivity in the work place too as part of this thread.
I have preached from day one my personal Mantra, Unions there is a difference.
Even some in my much loved Union will wish I would not.
But lets say this, my view was the same as a fresh faced young co delegate all those years ago.
20% of workers are union members.;
SAD but true 20% more are there for the taking, BUT CAN NOT AFFORD THE COST.
20% hear only the bad and will not ever join.
The rest via ACTU wage cases or ability to negotiate for them selves get the benefits of Unions existing.
A Little understood impact on wages is the vast difference paid from one industry to another.
Few know the Western Australian mine explosion, a very long time ago, saw an anti Union firm, recruit dozens of Queenslanders to drive those coal trains, on massive wages for the times.
Or that at a celebration of that line opening, the then deputy prime minister head of the Nationals, openly told those non union workers they did not belong in that wages bracket it was living above their class.
Good on ya Doug, never forgotten never forgiven.

Unions can b a good thing as ther are still some dodgy employers out there, however, so long as the unions strive to protect workers rights, not demand unreasonabe conditions, especially when many employers ar doing it tough.

You would never admit it Belly, I accept your bias :)

But union thuggery is back. Why? Because now they can.
There have been countless examples in the press.

400 Grand a year for the laundry workers on the gas rigs.
120 Grand a year for unskilled building workers working on
Govt sites.
Unlimited cushy deals on the Vic desalination plant site.
etc.

Large companies now simply pass these costs on to the taxpayers
which fund alot of these projects, because its thuggery or else.

But you will try to raise 30 year old issues to justify today's
world.

Next they will be screaming for jobs. Ah well, they only
have themselves to blame. Job creation schemes, that will be
the mantra shortly.

Union thuggery never went away yabby but your bias comes as much from refusal to under stand as fact.
If I was an employer, I have been, I would ask those working for me, unionist or not to use the enterprise bargaining system.
A base platform exists, some fixed rights.
However things within that pool of things can be changed, if they pass the BOOTS test.
Better Of Over all.
Put your self in my shoes, look at it from my view point just for a time.
I time and again, my union too, became an employers safety net! yes a trade union.
True story one of tens, construction contractor, owning a business of about 2 million dollars working on contracts worth 5 million gross.
Rings and requests we visit, based on watching us work on multi union site.
*I want to do an EBA with your union*
He tells the well known story, thugs and mugs loony left fools have even invaded his home/office disgusting comments to his wife.
I even had death threads, because I openly stand still against them on the stump not hiding.
And their members[few Australian workers are radical ] became mine.
I held a meeting, in that bosses home office, he put it up in paid time.
Providing he could speak at the start!
*he asked his workers to stick by him, told them he wanted them to become members of my union*
He bought after my request his wages up 12% to market rates.
On leaving all but 4 of his workers joined, in an hour we had our requests ready.
I took our needs in to his office these are his words.
* me we want 4% a year for three years on top to keep up with industry rates*
He,how many joined you? me gave him numbers,* he no lost my best operators every time I get them trained up, you can have three 5% rises first one now on top of the update.
That put more in his workers pockets than the lunatic union even asked for.

Wouldn't it be great if Unions demanded reducing wages for the highly paid instead of raising those of the lower paid. We'd soon be back on even keel instead of being awash with cheap imports & unemployments at the bow. How can we compete when we're the most expensive ? Why do Australians go to Asia for holiday ? Because it's cheaper. Not very scientific to work out is it ?
I don't give a hoot how little I know about so-called economics according to some experts on OLO. What I do give a hoot about are the bureaucrats, celebrities & other high income people paying a lower tax rate than everyone else. I really believe a flat tax would sort the lazy & incompetent from the rest. Anyone who makes it rich makes it morally rich under a flat tax. Stop paying politicians once they're not in the game anymore.

I thrashing and trashing the trade union movement some conveniently forget only one in five workers are unionist.
And the employers are in unions that use power badly too.
MARKET FORCES some as did the bloke above understand workers with some skills can be are being head hunted, and that poor quality work costs contracts/jobs.
For every firm with union involvement 3 exist,and pay the same rate that are not.
What type of world do we want,could we as China has, set up a free trade zone within our country, import foreign workers paid their home land wages to work 16 hours a day.
Your hand held Ipad was made that way.
Are we all happy with the richest country's America/China/ India also have the very poor and very hungry living within them?
Do some prosper by others failing.
Is wealth creation/ higher living only for some.
COMMUNISM was given birth by such systems..
As a younger stronger man a workmate and I twice a day twice a week unloaded two twenty ton loads of bagged lime on the road one in the morning one after lunch.
We cut each bag open and then emptied and party spread them.
Rushing of to get to a shower burning and in pain.
We did it because we could others too old could not.
My combatants will say it was ok, that we common Laborers got nothing extra for it.
A fact is good bosses out number bad but industrial warfare is a product of some bad bosses some bad workers and some bad unions.
Do not, EVER link me to the left wing filth insulting the history of the trade union movement.