Not every employee is a good negotiator. And poor negotiators get underpaid in a market system even when they are great at their job. Unions fix this market inefficiency by having good negotiators act on their behalf.
The company doesn’t pay for the increased cost though. I pay as a consumer. What do I get in return, especially since I’m not in nor have any interest in joining one?
As a consumer you benefit from maximally exploited workers. This is why rich countries import so many products from poor countries that have barely any labor protections.
In the good old days companies paid strike-breakers to crack skulls and sometimes kill employees who agitated for better working conditions. It is because of collective bargaining that workers got a 5 day work-week, mandatory holidays, sick leave, maternity leave, a basic pension, and the right to a safe workplace. Many have died to ensure these basic rights for everybody.
In the good old days employers didn't have to take factory safety into consideration. If you got crippled by factory machinery you would get fired and live the rest of your short life in destitution. Let's go back to that system. Employees will be free to choose the factory that maims them. The cost savings will surely be passed on to the consumer.
"Why should I care if a company I give money to treats its employees as slaves or as actual human beings?"
A minimal dose of empathy towards fellow humans is a good reason, at least in my opinion.
Consumers don't get anything. This is not about them.
This is about workers making sure to be treated fairly and using their power (the collective productivity they stand for) to bargain better conditions with employers.
How else do you want to balance out the power distribution?
a) they can always go work for another company, that is the main point here
b) who the fuck are you to tell people how much their work is worth? commie much? how about you mind your own business and let other people make their own decisions.
