Great thread!
I have experience both in a unioned, civil service, state government (university in this case) job, and a public corporation, high-tech industry job. I knew exactly to the penny how much everybody in the entire department was making back at the U. I have NO idea how much people are making in my current place of employment (except that I am aware of the general salary range).
Even with the not-knowing however, I like this current system much better. In my old job, pay increases were directly tied into the collective bargaining done by my union. I could get an annual “raise” to match inflation, but that was it. I could be the best (or conversely, the worst) at the job and I would not be recognized for it one iota. If I wanted a raise or a promotion I had to leave my job because the job I was in was pegged at the level I occupied. OTOH at my current job those that do well are recognized and rewarded well. For me, it doesn’t matter how much the next person is making, so much as how good of a job I do. The old “letting the union take care of me” stuff was totally unmotivating for me.