unions don’t alter the dynamics that cause downward pressure on work, which are the lopsided labor market dynamics that greatly advantage corporations over the individual (as well as over customers, by the way). we need to make labor markets radically transparent and promote worker mobility over corporate flexibility, at the very least.
I agree, the best ways to do that include providing universal healthcare and basic income to all citizens, which would separate "work" from "survival". That's the only way I see to create a truly fair marketplace for work.
like so much in our economy, healthcare suffers from the same poor market dynamics as the labor market. being tied to full employment is only one of its ills (it need not necessarily be universal, but rather universally affordable). the healthcare market is extractive and collusive rather than competitive and fair. we must fix those things first, largely through political pressure and policy changes (like tax reform and eliminating distortive subsidies). otherwise, it remains extractive and collusive and wealth keeps funneling to the same poor allocators of capital and away from working folks who are collectively good allocators of capital (via ‘wisdom of crowds’). good capital allocation instills competition, drives down prices, and incentivizes real innovation (vs. the financial/legal kind).
ubi would do something similar. it could never be big enough to change systemic issues, so would result in a funneling of the distributed wealth back to the capital holders, with no structural change other than inflation and rents going up.
so there’s no magic bullet. we need to make thousands of policy changes, all aimed at making markets fair and competitive foremost.
Okay, so how do you convince corporations/lobbyists/politicians to support this? Appealing to their kindness and decency? Or through more realistic ways like inception?
We don't need to "convince" any of them. The nice part about a democracy is that if enough people decide that this is important, we can elect politicians who already support it, then they can make laws which corporations and lobbyists have to follow.
(my last startup venture was in this space)