Because the previous examples of companies trying to avoid collective agreements have been American (notably Toys'R'Us and McDonalds)

Didn't Amazon and Walmart also try it out in Germany?

> Why does everyone complain like it is an American issue?

Because it largely is.

> For decades, Ford and others have factories in Europe and have union members.

These were handled very differently.

For the most part those were independent subsidiaries, under the same brand but playing with their own set of rules.

They commonly had different lineups entirely, for instance the Ford Focus was created in cooperation by the british (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_of_Britain) and German (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Germany) teams of Ford of Europe (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_of_Europe), and while the Focus was designed as an international car, it is the direct descendent of Ford of Europe's first passenger car the Escort (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Escort_(Europe)), which itself directly descends from Ford of Britain's Anglia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Anglia).

Not sure what the difference in products has to do with how the company is governed. Ford of Europe is a direct subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, and they both have the same CEO and Executive Chairman.

It’s hardly a shock to most in Europe that many American corporations (whether by virtue of a subsidiary or not) attempt to bring their American sensibilities to the European labor market.