man u always could talk.mine wont b so long.i grew up in a union family,grandfather,uncles,brothers,ect.so really i cant say to much bad about it.it fed us.but my dad was the pres.of this local down here in south texas.it was the union of operating engineers.(heavy eq.operators).what i saw the union do,other than the young people,like pete said,it weeded out all the wannabees.in this biz.the wannabees are pushed out by people like me.i demand the best out of my lineman or i get rid of them.but at the same time i dont ask them to do something i wont do myself.an still do.see i still climb every other pole just like i did 16yrs.ago.because thats the way i was taught.and i hope i can climb till i die cause i do love the biz...so i guess what im saying is that you must give change a chance if you dont we will all die.this an every generation of linedogs.so im in favor of it as long as the people in charge are there for the workers an not to get rich.what do you think pete??