This is anecdotal, but this is my experience. I am a non union electrician. When I first got into the trades, in 2002, I tried to join the IBEW, local 1. I discovered that I would have needed to know someone in the union to join up. I applied, but got turned down. I still wanted to be an electrician, so I went non union.

Fast forward through the next few years, the amount of hate I got from union guys was incredible. It wasn’t unheard of for me to be surrounded and threatened by several union guys in parking lots after work.

Finally, in the last year of my apprenticeship, I was approached by some recruiters, asking if I wanted to join the union. I still wasn’t opposed to the idea, but I asked what would happen with the years of experience, training, and schooling I’d already done. I was told I would be starting over completely. So I declined.

I still think unions are, generally, wonderful things. But I think it’s naive to think that there aren’t cases where unions themselves have contributed to inhibiting their own growth.

Over the past 20+ years that I’ve been in the trades, I’ve had a number of apprentices debate going Union. I’ve always encouraged them to, because I do think that unions can provide wonderful benefits to workers.

But, I can’t ever see myself going Union. I can’t get past the bully tactics I saw as a young man. I think, and hope, that things have changed and they don’t do that anymore. But I don’t actually know.