Apart from worker rights they are basically terrified that unions are an antidote to right wing propaganda with the poorest whites.
Opinions for most people are formed communally - they own the church-business and bastardised it so much with prosperity gospel so that is not a concern it once was with civil rights etc. but churches have increasingly less reach than they once had and they haven't found a way to strangle or bastardise unions just yet. And fox news and other propaganda outlets have diminished value with Gen Z onwards.
I'm sure they're working their darnedest to get the sheep back in line, corrupt the unions by bribing leadership to work against the interest of their members or one way or another kill them.
And stick together as unions. Don't let the next Reagan fuck over 3 generations - someone does something as egregious as firing the whole sector, every union strikes - bring down the whole fucking economy until they're rehired.
Usually, to get a $250k job you need to have $250k job trappings, aka you’re unlikely to get or keep that job while living, dressing or eating etc as a $50k job person, ending up in the situation you described.
Minimalism seems to be a way to escape the rat-race even through salary, but it seems like a strategy for after you have proven yourself indispensable in a high paying job, not something most people can or will achieve, or are able to then make the necessary life changes.
TLDR if you are a worker become part of a union no matter what salary you’re on.
Voting is like taking public transportation, it’s not going to take you to your exact destination but you get on the bus that gets you closer.
Not getting on the bus because it doesn’t go exactly where you want to, or you don’t like the bus driver is allowing others to take you in the exact opposite direction.