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$300k a year doesn't seem like much to pay for union leadership if it covered a large enough number of workers. It might be expensive on first glance, but it might be more expensive to not negotiate collectively.

Yeah, but unlike management, you can start an opposition caucus in your union, do organizing, win an election, and reform bad union leadership.

We just have such low awareness in the US about what unions are and how they work that we take self-serving, collaborationist, timid union leadership as a fact instead of something we can and should urgently struggle to change.

my parents had to be part of the union (USSR, so no choice). Union leaders decide who goes on vacation, when and where (e.g. paid trips to beautiful Crimea). Also, of course, who is paid what amount. Of course, if you aren’t relative/friend of union leaders you get none of the perks. f@&&k that

Oh well, it worked out badly in one context so that means it can never work in any context. On the other hand, when capitalism works out badly for people that's just how things are and nobody is to blame.

/s

They're nominated, voted as reps. Shouldn't be extra money in it.