UAW- not a big fan of unions. Never understood you pay dues to keep a job that is still susceptible to the market? I'm a believer if you're a good employee someone wants you somewhere. What the leader said is they would turn down a 21% pay increase. Instead 40% is what he's asking! Per Face the Nation. Btw, Margaret Brennan is great. Asks the tough questions. I liked when she said,
How is that going to work when EV cost 40% less in labor? 
First time I saw any effect of unions was when Harley Davidson went on strike not long after my dad started working there. They were able to receive a bit of unemployment compensation + $18/week for what they called 'bread money'. Second time was when I worked for a lumber company after high school as a 'yardman', which wasn't a union job, but the Teamsters went on strike, so the yards shut down and that meant I lost the income that was going toward college tuition. We have all seen how badly the automakers were affected when the UAW flexed its muscles in the '70s & '80s, then new car buyers had to pay more because of the concessions needed to end the strikes.
In 2005, I worked for a custom AV/network integration company and we were hired to work in an apartment building that was still under construction, but buyers of the units were allowed to make changes they wanted- we couldn't go in until after the union workers had left, but to prevent lags, we arrived as they were leaving. They taunted us every time, talking about how the others needed to make sure their tools were secured because we would steal them, that we were scabs and did crappy work. I can say with absolute certainty that some of the worst work I have ever seen was done by union employees, so the idea that 'Unions Do It Better" is a load of crap. Many tradespeople receive great training, if they decide to go, but a lot of it is optional after they reach a certain level of seniority.
In theory, I don't have a problem with unions, especially when the workers are treated badly and paid poorly, but union pay is usually significantly higher than non-union and many people don't want to or can't afford union wages. I was surprised to see that some working for automakers are paid about $18/hour, but the benefits do add up, so that's not reflecting all of their compensation.
I heard union entitlement from some of the guys my dad worked with when they complained that the 'sweepers' made $18/hour, in the mid-'70s. A 'sweeper' is exactly that, they swept the floors and $18/hour was a lot of money at that time, but they were in the same union, so they enjoyed the same benefits and high pay. That $18/hour is comparable to just over $31/hour now- not bad, for sweeping floors.
