[tialaramex]

It's complicated. Unions do what their members want. But "what the members want" can be pretty different from what turns out to be a good idea in hindsight. Should children work down the coal mine? The view of somebody who wants that extra income from their 12 year old working in the mine may be quite different...

I support many union actions at my employer, for example I joined their recent strike, withholding my labour (and consequently getting paid less) because the employer and indeed their entire sector, refuses to make sensible pension and pay provisions - but I won't join the union itself because I don't agree with all their positions and I'm content with the trade off that results.