You're mixing cause and effect. Unions can exist where we can afford them, namely, where we're not competing internationally. A plumber in India can't come to your house and install a new bathtub, nor can an Indian electrician come and install new lights in your bedroom. Unions don't cause lucrative careers, they are enabled by lucrative careers.
Nope. Germany and Japan have a higher unionization rate than we have, German and Japanese unions even have a say on who runs the companies... and they compete internationally just fine.
The ironic thing was after WWII, we sent over a guy named Demming to show the Japanese how to make their industries more efficient.... Now American manufacturing are bringing back his principles using the Japanese terms for them like Poke-Yoke, Kaizen, and 5S to make our industry more efficient.
IT is an excellent example of careers that pay very well even in the face of international competition and need no unions at all. And, how does a plumber, electrician, or HVAC specialist maximize their earning potential? By starting their own business, of course. They can earn a lot more than by belonging to a union, and they don't have a union boss telling them to go out on strike and taking part of their paycheck for dues that only end up in a democrat's re-election campaign.
actually, my brother is a Union HVAC guy... he makes something like $80.00 an hour.