Our son was a TA while earning his Graduate Degree. They provided him with a small stipend, but free tuition, so his Grad degree was essentially “free.” (he lived at home and commuted the 20 miles to the University.)
He had to put in 16 hours a week as a TA for a prof.
So he worked 3 days at his “regular” job, worked 2 days for the Prof, went to classes 3 nights a week 6-9, and fit his studying into spare bits of time.
If you worked out the pay per hour, it was probably around $25 an hour. What kid with a just a bachelor’s is starting out getting $25 an hour, so why unionize. Plus it looks great on your resume as your first job.
I just hired two entry level people at the equivalent of $25 an hour. It happens regularly.