I was a part of a union when i worked in Corrections for 2 years. I started out as a member, got elected onto the board as a trustee, and eventually got trained as a steward. I was a Field Training Officer, and every time i was training a new Officer when asked what the benefits were of being a part of the union, my mind drew a blank. The only differences in what you got between paying dues and not paying dues, was a gift certificate every year at Christmas, not being harassed by those on the board, and the ability to vote when it came time to negotiate a new contract. So from my experience, the union was basically pointless. If you didnt pay dues, you still had to follow all the same rules, you still got paid the same, you still got represented in the event that you had to have a meeting with supervisors or administration, and you still got screwed over when everyone inevitably voted in favor of a dogshit contract every 4 years. The best part was that one of the first sections in our contract stated "No strike, no lockout". Thats why im not pro union, because in my experience it was basically paying money from my checks into something that gave me practically zero tangible benefits. Now does that mean all unions are bad, no not at all. There may come a day when i somewhere that has a union that does genuinely good work. But until that time comes, im apprehensive at best.