Yes. I would definitely say there should be a union, but also within that union you need a group of ex-players, because they know what they're talking about. You see countless people in unions who have never played the sport. They know nothing about the game. They don't know where you've been. At the end of the day you need those ex-players to make the game a better place for all athletes.
It goes even further: When players are done with that, they can also learn to fill in those positions within the union to make it better and better.