tailgater hit it right on the head...
whenever I complain about the union at work (which is very rare because its worse than blasphemy to most people there) they always bring up all of the good things that unions do. I always respond in the same way: I am a hard worker that could and should be earning this kind of money and benefits anyway. Every other job I have worked in, I was advanced quickly because of my hard work and determination. The only thing the union does for me is let me know that all of my hard work is basically for nothing since it will never get me advanced, promoted or get me a pay raise. THe only thing that is on my side is time, meaning every six months or so, I will get a raise only because it is in our contracts, not because I am a hard worker. It inspires complacency and mediocrity.
Our contract is coming up soon, and you should hear people talk excitedly about what they're going to get and how they will really stick it to mangement and all that crap...They can't wait to participate in a strike which will do nothing more than hurt our store, our customers and our jobs. Let the free market decide and let the chips fall where they may...
of course if anyone at work heard me talking about this, I have no doubt that they would not hesitate to slash my tires or threaten me or my family, no matter how well I have treated them before.