As said earlier - it is not smart to kill the golden goose. I must agree with most of your assessment as presented. Many unions got overly greedy and did contribute to the problems present today. But let's not forget that the companies agreed to these contract items, also.
My take is negotiating must be, and I hate to use the word, fair to both sides. In times of plenty, workers can ask and try to receive. Correspondingly, upon hard times they should be expected to give back, too.
But let's not forget that the companies agreed to these contract items, also.
Fair enough. But the company's choice when threatened with a strike is: (1) Agree to hurtful concessions and delay the damage to the company, or (2) go out of business immediately.
So, while it's true that a bad mgmt can run a company into the ground and put workers out of jobs, it's also true that the Union is partly responsible for keeping the company in business.
My main complaint about unions and social security scams are, though, the point about imorally saddling future generations with current gains for the present generation.
Companies, I wish, had chosen option #2, though it woulda been seen as cold-hearted capitlist raiders....when in truth....workers would've had to have found new jobs at lower wages and benefits without stealing from future generations.