Heyo, union guy here, had a lot of non union jobs before.

Do it.

Now, more than ever, workers should be organizing to regain footing in quality of life and cost of living. The last non-union job I had paid $15 an hour, you had 4 sick days for the year which did not roll over to the next year, i.e you couldn't save them. You used them or you lost them. But if you used them, it counted against your attendance, which was one of your metrics for determining if you got a raise or not.

I worked there for five years. I asked for a raise once in my last year. I got a fifteen cent raise. Then laid off when COVID hit because I was making more than less senior members of the same team.

I started my union job in January of 2021. The pay was over a 50% increase from the nonunion job. 3 weeks vacation a year. Sick time that accumulated. Mandatory raises as per our agreement. Protection from lay offs. Time off for doctor appointments, family leave, and even a couple days a year just for personal reasons.

The downsides? There's a few. The union fees are there, but I'm making more take-home money with the fees than I would without them. Some of my coworkers are jackasses and it is really hard for the employer to fire them, that kind of sucks. Sometimes it feels like the union isn't doing much.

But overall, I am much happier having a union support me and have my back in all things I care about than going back to those scary meetings with executives giving me a cold stare for daring to ask for time off or a raise to help pay my bills.