The reason I believe Wal-Mart should be unionized is not so much for higher wages (although that should be strived for as well) but mostly for health insurance.
Personally, I wish we would get away from the idea of employer provided health care. It’s only due to a quirk of the WWII wage and price controls that employer provided health care became something considered to be expected from good employers. With wages capped, employers who needed workers had to compete for scarce labor on the basis of fringe benefits such as health insurance. Looked at realistically, employer provided insurance is actually a contributing factor to the weakness of unions. Workers who have developed pre-existing consitions (or who have a dependant with one) are far less likely to risk losing insurance. To restore balance to the labor market we need to provide alternatives to employer provided insurance, not mandate it.
