Workers manage to get some respect through strikes -> things go ok for a while -> someone abuses the right (it always happens) -> rulers fight back -> workers lose right(s), stop organising -> life sucks for a while -> workers get their lesson and start again.

I believe the US situation is now so bad labour-wise, that the working class are slowly learning again that striking is not so bad, and trade unionists are not all power-hungry mafia-type jokes. Same for the UK. It's completely the opposite in ex-soviet countries where certain rethoric has been abused in the past. France and Germany have a more complex situation, with trade unions still technically powerful but in need of internal changes to accomodate new industries. Italy, as usual, is the bottom of the barrel, with a reduced union movement abusing their rights to defend archaic practices and failed companies (see the recent Alitalia case)... to be fair, there are exceptions here and there, desperately trying to fix their problems.