They aren't perfect, have a strong organized crime element, and are often in cahoots with management anyway. Granted. But unions vary greatly by place and by the type of job one has in terms of strength. Unions helped a lot of immigrants, ethnics, veterans, and working class people better their lives in the past, many of my relatives are blue collar types and belong to them, and for all of their faults there was a time when 5 year old kids worked in tunnels, when people got screwed out of their money, and when the fat cats held ALL, or virtually all, of the power, and we are heading back to the old ways in the latter two things. I say reform the unions, but don't weaken them , which is something that Reagan was very good at BTW. I come from Massachusetts originally, and in cities like Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, unions are respected and the old nightmarish conditions aren't forgotten. In Indianapolis, where I live now, a lot of people are afraid of unions because frankly management is far more powerful, they spread outlandish rumors about unions which have some basis in fact, but are simply exaggerations and half-truths: and you have little to no recourse if you've got a problem, it's an "at will" state, which is total B.S. in my view. People act like the union is the boogeyman, with all sorts of ludicrous claims about them, and frankly I find that disturbing.