I'm not a big fan of unions either and honestly I still don't know how I feel about'em
The Netjets pilot-job went from a stepping stone job to a career job. From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, there wasn't much diference between Netjets and a commuter airline... However by 2007-2008, Netjets was a better job than some of the major airlines... and the union had a lot to do with that and for that I am gratefull. (we have great QOL, descent pay, no commuting, free benefits, etc...)
My biggest problem with the union is that it is impossible to fire a bad employee and it is almost impossible to reward a good employee. We are all numbers, we're all the same under an organized system
Also sometimes the company finds itself in a bind, and you wanna help, but inorder to help, you have to break the contract... So you don't and the passenger gets screwed..
{Again, I have a good job because of a union, but sometimes I wanna go the extra mile and help the company so it survives, but i can't because I'm bound by a labor contract}