I want to explore this thought more and its biased to post this in antiwork however i think itll be a good insight to see what people think of employers in here
Tbh i do actually really want to find a place like the two good ones you mentioned to work at, it feels so hopeless with all of my experience of working either being just a number or the guy to unload all the work on without any benefits.
At this late stage of my life, I think the future in non-union employment might be in some kind of collaborative enterprise. There is a local company made up of a plumber, an electrician, a couple of equipment operators, a bookkeeper, and an accountant. They were all independent businesses that decided to formalize their existing business relationships under the umbrella of a shared company name. They still take independent bookings, but all under the new company name. The bookkeeper already offered answering services, so that fits nicely.
If I were younger or interested in coming out of retirement, I’d try to throw in with them for networking, computer security, and automation.