In most unions, it’s a select group of members doing the collective bargaining, not union employees.
Yes that’s the way I understood it. But I thought those select members got paid for it, some kind of stipend - or better, a cushy supervisory role over the other members to mediate small disputes with management.
All I was saying is, a union should be like any other business. If it provides value the members will sign up and pay. If the members don’t find value, they should be free to quit the union. In either case it is up to the union and the delegates to demonstrate their worth.