I worked in a union shop sixteen years ago and don't miss it a bit. Bunch of lazy fucks that whine about everything under the sun. The hard working newbies were told to 'slow down, you're making the rest of us look bad'. I guess I just never understood the union mentality.
I've been a self-employed contractor all these years and I abosolutly love it.
I know this post doesn't address your issue, but I feel better
