Outside legal monopolies like utilities, and choke points that are the equivalent of legal monopolies, like ports, private sector unions are essentially dead. The market is a harsh mistress - always has been, and when the economic structure changed to make the economics favorable to monopolies and oligopolies, where unions could organize to grab a portion of the supra high profits that ensued a thing of the past, their ability to raise wages basically just disappeared. So from a financial standpoint, they added no benefit for workers, while levying on them costs. Over time, the workers got the "memo" and split. There is just not much money for them to grab beyond what the market dictates, without causing their employers to slowly get sick and die.
I still remember when I read the data in business school 40 years ago, that Unions outside monopolies and oligopolies did not increase wages, because I was just amazed, but then realized that is what economic theory dictates - it was at once to me elegant, and true, that that had to be the case.
As a general rule, a theory which is elegant and 'true' (especially if based on another theory) is false. Or at least a grotesque oversimplification. This is basically the story of the social sciences.
You are reading intentions into people that aren't necessarily what are those stated in the article. One wonders whether this would have failed - and the vote was close - had this occurred in some other part of the country.
