Outliers being paid more than their peers is the exact thing that unions fight against. I wouldn't be surprised if this originated as a union demand.

My friends Union recently fought against work from home for desk jobs because the field workers could not enjoy the same benefit.

Corporate leadership negotiated against the Union, but the union prevailes so there is no work from home

Unions also fight to have everybody paid more. The company dropping everybody to the lowest bar instead of increasing benefits for the worst off is absolutely not something the union demanded.

As for outliers in general, sure. The whole union thing is based on collective bargaining after all. If Bob is making more than everybody else in the same position, that means there's more room for everybody else doing that job to make more.

If something like this did originate from a union complaint, it sucks now for the best-off, but it's also going to be a real strong point for all the workers to use when the contract is renegotiated.

I work in a place with a union and sometimes have a minor role in negotiation with them.

100% WFH put them between a rock and a hard place. Ultimately the power of bargaining is dependent on being able to strike. Remote weakens that as people can be anywhere. The control lost by management is also felt by labor.

The circumstances vary - if your union and circumstances get hybrid and remote work in the CBA, you’re much better as we’ve already seen “return to the office” used as a stealth layoff technique that denys unemployment and severance.

I'm curious how it is used as a stealth layoff. If your role location requirement changes, you should be eligible for layoff UI.

Inequality in pay is what unions typically fight against unless it is based on seniority. Many union shops have underemployment problems solved by bringing in contractors - or non-union organizations that exist in states with strong labor laws, where businesses only hire a small number of FTEs and hire contractors for the majority of the rank and file work to get around strong labor laws.

Really depends on the state. My hospital in Arizona sat me through a presentation urging me to not sign a union petition, like a lot of other companies.

No, most nurses aren’t unionized.