Re: Can someone please explain...
> [ ... ] for the benefit of someone based in the UK, why large US companies appear to be so utterly terrified of unions?
Part of it goes back to the 1950's and the Red Scare. Back then, unions were identified with Communism - as a propaganda device. Somehow, wanting to be paid overtime for more than 8 hours of work per day instantly transforms someone into Lenin.
That story continued until the Soviet Union collapsed. Now that the USSR was gone, they shifted propaganda tactics: it wasn't Communism vs. Freedom anymore, it was the job-creators (capital + management) vs. freeloaders (labor). Essentially pitting capital and management against their own labor force.
We invented a new narrative: unions are holding you - union worker with overtime pay, health insurance and pension plan - back. If you just quit your union, that will unleash your full potential. The sky's the limit. You will be so much better off without overtime pay, without health insurance - because now you can't afford it - and without pension. The Free Market's Invisible Hand will take care of everything for you. By outsourcing your job to China.
The other part is management's hysterical fear of employees (labor) unionizing and making demands that would have to be met, and would cut into management's well-deserved bonuses.