> You sound anti-union.


I wouldn't say that at all - but I am sort of disillusioned with them. I suspect that is a very common feeling in the general populace also)

While I am well aware of the need for unions, and generally sympathetic; I have witnessed way too much corruption, favoritism, and heavy handedness against our own members, etc., to be happy. And yes, managements are often just as corrupt and heavy handed (and stupid); usually bringing it upon themselves when their employees want a union.

But in my experiences; instead of having someone on our side to fight our battles, most of us found ourselves to be nothing but pawns, stuck in the middle between two powerful (and sometimes violent) warring factions; neither of which was looking out for anyone but their own narrow institutional interests. Needless to say - nobody ever really won. Not only were we poorer for it, but the company was profoundly weakened also.

Obvious to say, I hated working in such an adversarial environment. Odd then I suppose, that I then became a paralegal, as legal work sometimes degenerates into just that; but at least, I am not personally involved.

The big benefit of a semi-professional career is that there is relative job mobility. There are thousands of potential employers out there and not too many of us; providing a much better balance in the labor market. Whereas in the railroad industry, there are only a few employers and many many employees (few buyers vs many sellers of labor); thus no economic balance of power at all. It is in that kind of warped labor market, where unionism is probably essential to any balance at all.

I just wish unions were better at it, and truly had their member's interests at heart; or that there was some entirely better way. But I have no idea what that would be.