Just curious, have you ever worked in a non-union job?

I have and my experience was that you will never get paid what you're worth --- unless you're ruthless and prioritize gaming review systems over working with your team.

So if you want to argue that people who work exclusively to maximize their short-term outcomes without developing skills or, for that matter, any actual software can make more money without unions, I would agree... in the short run.

Am I fairly characterizing corporate jobs? About as fairly as you're characterizing collective bargaining, is what I think.