I am largely indifferent to unions and only belonged to one as a grocery store stock boy when I was a kid
the problem with unions is human nature
union bosses are often corrupt and untrustworthy
also unions can have too much power as they did in the midwest where they drove down productivity and cost their members jobs
but properly run unions are not entirely bad
its just so few are properly run
I was indifferent for years as well. Then the issue fell into my lap because it directly affected me...
THEN I got very involved; to the point where I ended up as a Steward for my department and one of the members who negotiated our first contract. I stayed in that position for just over a decade before stepping down almost 2 years ago.
Corruption in Unions is really more a problem of uninvolved members than anything else. Corruption can’t happen when there’s member oversight.
Unions don’t have too much power. Their members just need to remember that no matter how important the Union is, their paychecks come from the Company not the Union. Working together is far more productive thanfighting each other. Both sides need to remember that.