I grew up in a very pro-union family. My own experiences with unions has turned me against them. They don’t even follow their own rules. They turn into good-old-boy clubs that are used to hire nephews and cousins and other relatives. They don’t ever have to help you, but buddy, you’d better pay your union dues.
I totally hear you. I’ve worked for the Big Three, the unions create a climate of “quicksand”...they have no inherent interest in progress, in fact they prefer the opposite.
IMO unions end up behaving as “legal gangs”, same attitude. The problem is though, I’ve seen some execs that would pay people $1/hr if they could, no interest in people’s well being at all.