If unions cleaned up their acts I'd have more sympathy for them. After all the union movement was vital in reigning the excesses of mangament in the 19th and early 20th centuries. But today's unions tolerate widespread incompetence and cronyism in their ranks. Theft of company property is widespread. Heck, I know guys who belonged to the mineworkers at Kennecott who have complete sets of Snap-on tools in their garages that they looted from Kennecott.
I used to belong to the printer's union in Kalif and learned that in return for my dues I got absolutely nothing. No representation, no benefits, no protection from firing or layoffs, absolutely nothing but a hole in my paycheck. What a joke.
Unions are in serious trouble. If you seperate out the public employees unions you discover that union membership is at an all time low and getting worse. If unions took serious action to ensure competence and industriousness from their members you'd see management welcoming union workers instead of trying to find ways to avoid them.