When you look at the work conditions that lead to the rise of the big unions, it's laughable to think that a job that involves sitting at a desk in an air-conditioned office for 40 hours a week is in any way comparable. Most tech employees realize that they've got a pretty good thing going, they earn well above average incomes, typically have top-notch benefits, can find new employment easily if needed, and are not going to perceive a union bringing anything desireable to the table.
You’re right that factory and manual labor abuses are more vivid and immediate, but there are techniques to harm creative and professional workers as well.
This is why there are unions for film and theater industry creatives, as well as nurses, and why there are licensing associations that provide collective power for lawyers and doctors.
Not all tech workers have it cushy, and collective action of some kind (it doesn’t have to be unions) can help protect the most exploited.
