I don't want to say union, because I've been a union member and there are benefits to that, for sure. But it was like working as an employee for a shitty company while having to pay into, and be involved in, a shittier political party. The traditional union either has to evolve or we have to build something better.
That said, though, with the strength of the unions diminishing over the years, the power of the working force has been left to the mercy of the corporations. And the corporations are just hungry raging forest fires looking for anything to consume. It really doesn't matter who runs them. Success requires they squeeze every penny out of every orifice that will exude them. And the tighter they squeeze the people, the more desperate the people become. And the more desperate they are, the less pay they will accept.
We could hope and pray for tighter government regulations on corporations, and that would be a good thing. Assuming all the other governments do the same — it wouldn't be a popular move for a politician to chase away their cash-cows. And with the corporations having bought and paid for all foreseeable legislation, it might not be an advisable strategy to hold our breath. Even if legislation were passed it would be a disaster just like everything else the government does. Why? Because the government is run by whatever shady dark force of lawyers that lurk in the night, sponsored by the very corporations it should be protecting us from, and executed by a group of government employee union members with a horrifically entitled and unmotivated work culture.
The ONLY workable strategy is for the workforce to find strength in numbers, and take back negotiating power from the corporations (kinda how the government employees unions sorta did). If there is a another way, I'd be happy to hear it.
But it won't be any current union that pulls us from the brink. With the Etsy strike in mind, it boggles my mind that unions can't find the flexibility to include sole proprietors. Unions show stunning inflexibility with their insistence on seniority being the be-all, end-all value system; that no employee deserves to be fired; and with their policies that restrict the type of workers they include. But worst of all, unions get stuck in that political game of popularity contests. Their governance has all the same features as a political circus on the CNN/Fox show.
Can't we do better than that? I'm quite certain there are no laws against organizing a work-force of independent people / sole-proprietors — or hell anyone who wants, even if they're in a union. I'm pretty sure it's possible to elect a manager or policy based on their merit – even if it has to be done blindly – an online system which shows only the platforms or success rates of similar policies. I'm pretty sure it isn't impossible for an organization to value honesty and transparency — though my experience suggests otherwise.
If it's possible, you can count me in to try. Because I sure as fuck know what will happen if we don't.