about "The Welfare State" and how terrible unions are and other such lies for a very long time now. Too many people believe them.
And underlying problem is that not only is history often badly taught in middle and high school, but most kids simply don't care about history, haven't a clue that what did people did or said or thought could possibly matter to them. Many parents (maybe most) are equally dismissive and ignorant of history.
Hardly anyone is still alive who remembers the strikes of the 1930's and earlier, what union organizers actually went through to make jobs safer, pay decently, have benefits. I think a lot of people are only capable of focussing on how awful it is to pay union dues, just as they think all of their taxes are wasted except for maybe those that pay for our bloated military. They haven't a clue that the union protects them or that taxes help provide decent schools, roads, police and fire fighters, just to name a few that are the most obvious benefits.
In short, a lot of people are idiots.