Union membership has fallen to 10.1% of US workers, the lowest in a century, yet wages for the bottom 50% have stagnated even as productivity climbed 60% since 1979. I've watched my own warehouse cut safety overtime and voice concerns get ignored, while the CEO's pay rose 340% in five years. Strong unions don't just fight for higher pay—they create a counterweight that forces companies to address safety and fair scheduling. Is the decline in organized labor the real reason the average worker has lost leverage?