there is a significant distinction between public and private unions, imo. including private unions that benefit from public pro-union mandates (like any project recieving public money must use union labor, etc.). employees have a legitimate interest in collectively organizing to receive fair treatment from private employers. that relationship is not the same when dealing with public entities, as the unions can, under certain circumstances, influence government decisions relating to employee/union treatment. it's the flip side of crony capitalism - when an entity controls, or at least influences, both sides of a negotiation between nominally opposing camps, that negotiation is inherently corrupted.
