Based on anecdotal experiences mine were nearly the opposite. Now I was never a trades worker but I did work for a unionized company. Up to a few months ago before leaving for private sector.
Union:
- Everyone is complacent with work, majority of time is spent faking work or finding ways out of work (pay raises are not tied to performance)
- Net pay below average for industry (Below 50th percentile)
- Under-skilled workers protected by the union from being let go.
- Successes & Failures of the company are shared amongst the entire employee base. As a result there is no motivating drive to work harder to push better products out faster because there is no direct feedback resulting from it
- Training is provided on a seniority basis
Non-Union:
- Identical benefits (or at the very least negotiable) but higher base wage
- Skilled workers who are hired based off of recommendation of trusted employees exclusively
- Strong motivating factor to produce more deliverable work as it is a direct correlation to the business's success and therefore yours (profit sharing)
- Pay raise is tied to performance
- Training provided on an as needed basis -> The new guy might get training before the 10 year vet because he/she is the one going to be working with that particular skill set in the short time frame
----
Shared amongst those is equal work/life balance and safety. Labour laws have protected the workforce from shady practices you experienced (arguably an isolated incident). I'm thankful for what unions of the last few centuries have brought for us, but speaking in the majority of cases I've heard of, (anecdotal: take it as you will) they are now power hungry bodies that are corroding industry from the inside out.
I can't speak to your experiences other than to say it's disgusting mismanagement if true. I've heard similar stories involving non-trades union companies. I've also heard amazing success stories involving companies bought out of bankruptcy by their employees and turned into financial success stories. Guess it depends on the people involved.
One thing I can address is this:
" Labour laws have protected the workforce from shady practices you experienced (arguably an isolated incident)"
In manufacturing and trades (especially trades) this isn't even slightly accurate. Laws don't protect people, they provide a theoretical framework for compensation or punitive action after the fact. In practice a private citizen has almost no chance against a corporate lawyer in court, so it's almost impossible to prove workplace safety violations. On the rare ocassion that something does stick in court companies caught violating worker safety laws typically get a slap on the wrist, meanwhile whistleblowers better have a spare career up their sleeves or line up a settlement big enough to retire on because they
won't be working for any outfits in their industry once they pull the trigger on a court case. Good luck proving the last company you interviewed you didn't hire you because you blew the whistle on your last employer. :/
You're probably right on trades but what you said about management is entirely right. You can have good workplaces and bad ones regardless of union status.
Union:
- Everyone is complacent with work, majority of time is spent faking work or finding ways out of work (pay raises are not tied to performance)
- Net pay below average for industry (Below 50th percentile)
- Under-skilled workers protected by the union from being let go.
- Successes & Failures of the company are shared amongst the entire employee base. As a result there is no motivating drive to work harder to push better products out faster because there is no direct feedback resulting from it
- Training is provided on a seniority basis
Non-Union:
- Identical benefits (or at the very least negotiable) but higher base wage
- Skilled workers who are hired based off of recommendation of trusted employees exclusively
- Strong motivating factor to produce more deliverable work as it is a direct correlation to the business's success and therefore yours (profit sharing)
- Pay raise is tied to performance
- Training provided on an as needed basis -> The new guy might get training before the 10 year vet because he/she is the one going to be working with that particular skill set in the short time frame
----
Shared amongst those is equal work/life balance and safety. Labour laws have protected the workforce from shady practices you experienced (arguably an isolated incident). I'm thankful for what unions of the last few centuries have brought for us, but speaking in the majority of cases I've heard of, (anecdotal: take it as you will) they are now power hungry bodies that are corroding industry from the inside out.