In my country we had mandated unions for tech workers in various states. I paid the compulsory annual fee plus an additional fee that I didn't understand and can't properly explain what it was for.
Not once in 23 years in IT have they done anything for me. Not a single time. Every time we pushed for raises and someone contacted the union, nothing came back. When the company was not updating our salaries against inflation (that's a thing here), the union made a deal in our behalf so the increase would be bellow inflation. Multiple times.
I'd like to see unions working but they are a joke.
EDIT: Just remembered that we constantly had issues with overtime and they didn't care either.
Sounds like a bad union and in many places unions are badly run. Did people keep voting for the same ineffective union reps?
I don't think about what a union can do for me personally, rather what it can do for the collective and hope that benefits me directly. I'm in a union and they have forced yearly mandatory base rate raises for all and the negotiation to be just after the company announces their yearly profit. My salary keeps going up without me doing anything and occasionally I have a performance review to increase the salary beyond the mandatory minimum rise.
Fundamentally unions require either a good relationship and respect from the company; or be willing to enforce that respect via direct action. In order for that to happen the country has to have decent employment laws.
From what you described it sounds very, very similar to my experience with unions in Brazil. The ones for IT specifically, they all suck and that system is definitely not how unions should work... For some reason I always felt those IT unions in Brazil were not actually run by any worker but by cadres from the employers.
On the other hand, unions here in Sweden are definitely worth being part of, they have your back as an employee, and have helped many people I know personally.
I might be misinformed here, but aren't unions part of the board for LLCs in Sweden? Or is it in Germany? (which, I mean, if you want limited liability, it's a good idea to have real oversight).
Not once in 23 years in IT have they done anything for me. Not a single time. Every time we pushed for raises and someone contacted the union, nothing came back. When the company was not updating our salaries against inflation (that's a thing here), the union made a deal in our behalf so the increase would be bellow inflation. Multiple times.
I'd like to see unions working but they are a joke.
EDIT: Just remembered that we constantly had issues with overtime and they didn't care either.