It does however pressure companies to only hire union workers, or pressure the government to give preference to union workers. That's the whole point of a union, to check and co-opt the monopoly/oligopolic power of corporations and the government and giving it to the collective workers.

You might philosophically disagree with that approach and think that a more anarchic market is better, but a union is not a violent coercive group.

That's the whole point. Individuals have no power. You can fool yourself into thinking that extra 20k a year you managed to get is power.