You cannot ignore the role of unions in destroying the US Steel and Auto industries. They were front and center. When we were the post WW II powerhouse with an intact infrastructure, we could pay those high union wages. When the world rebuilt and rebounded with lower cost labor and we started importing lower-cost products, the US became less competitive.
What would you have done to fix that?
Unions are nothing now. Only 6% of the private sector is in a union.