My work doesn't have a union and needs one, management is unresponsive to legitimate concerns, doesn't take labor issues seriously, and is generally disrespectful with a lot of lip service and misdirection when we do try to discuss things. I started a conversation about it with a coworker who has been with the company for 7 years and he said that actually we used to have a union and then the company hired a bunch of fake workers to fill vacant positions and used those fake workers to vote for dissolving the union. Then about 2 years ago some people tried to start a union another union and there was retaliation (the kind that's impossible to legally prove) and people eventually chickened out and gave up.
Since management is clearly shady and willing to fight dirty I need advice on how to protect myself and anyone who's interested in forming a union. I would also appreciate advice on how to deal with workers who are likely to side with management or who otherwise can't really be trusted as I'm fairly certain there's a few of them. Really any advice on how to do this successfully would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!