Remember, unions come in two flavors ~ "leaders" and "members". Virtually all the "leaders" are part of the Democrat apparatus. Few of the "members" are.
I do believe the discussion is about capturing more than our usual share of "members".
Look how Rick Santorum got beat up for openly reaching out to unions. Romney did the same but had people going door to door in the Detroit area seeking the most liberal of the union crowd.
My experiences match your description.
If you travel in similar circles to union tradesmen you’ll see familiar symbolism - the American flag for example. But during GW’s two terms the dhimmicrats eschewed such outward displays of patriotism because they felt that it was be an endorsement of GW. This caused a natural contradiction with the rank & file who were (up to that point) as patriotic as the rest of us.
I’ve worked in a mixed environment where there was a union contingent. I had many discussions with tradesmen regarding their “marching orders” to vote in “union solidarity” (and on more than one occasion remarked on how similar their jargon was to communism). Almost without exception they bristled at the suggestion that they had no will of their own, but very few could articulate a defense for why they were voting for the lefty union choice.
I must say that I rather enjoyed these little forays into FUDmucking ;-)
Furthermore, I’ve noticed a lot more breaking of the ranks with regards to Øbozo. They see him for who and what he is and they;re repelled by him. The contrast between personal values and the imposed union agenda has never been more stark.
And who knows? With a moderate like mittens as an alternative they may secretly cross over and abandon the dhimmicrats this time around.