Bethesda you hit it pretty darn close. I really have to wonder where people get their wage figures from, I think out is they're pulling them out of their arse or getting them from Fox News. I know what the current wage is where I used to work in "Closed" Union Shop, "closed" as in you had to be in the Union or you didn't work there. I'm gonna tell y'all right here and now that I do not I know of any Union workers making $50-75/hr. The current wage in the shop I'm going to tell you about for a Journeyman Machinist is $25.04/hr. plus benefits and benefits get lower with every contract. To get in this shop is not easy, they recently wanted to hired 3 Journeyman Machinist, meaning you better hit the floor able to do or make what's put in front of you. In the last hiring session over 50 showed up, when told there would be a mandatory drug test about half left, when they got through doing aptitude testing only 2 made it through. There's more talent in the Union shop I worked in than any place I've ever worked and there's been quite a few. This facility has cranes from 1 ton to two overhead 200ton cranes, that's not a typo it's 200ton, that's the kind of equipment being handled there.
I realize it's cute and all to throw off all the problems of this country onto Unions and there probably is some Union workplaces where stuff isn't getting done or done right but I can assure you there's Union facilities out there that are the envy of the world. The facility I spoke of has been visited by nearly every Class 1 railroad, the head of FRA and Rail Administrations from other countries. The workmanship coming out of that shop is top notch. Equipment so well built that they have built massive amounts of equipment for other railroads.
I tried to bugout of this thread but some of you folks haven't a clue as to what you're talking about. Turn off the Fox News, stop drinking their Kool-Aid and start thinking for yourself for a change. Merry Christmas!