Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The core idea behind a union makes sense - it's legalised extortion. How is it extortion, legal or otherwise?
I think the notion of "we are all going to quit and/or refuse to work if employer doesn't do (or does do) x" is arguably pretty extortiony. One could also argue it's just makes the market hyper-efficient by signalling the reaction of the supply of labor to a change in the asking price very quickly and directly. I genuinely don't know why employers do not hire non-union employees in such circumstances; I think most of…
Collective bargaining is pretty much the only tool workers have to even begin to correct the power differential between employer and employee. Ideally, it allows employees and employers to negotiate on more equal terms than is otherwise possible.