I work for a global manufacturer, employees ~20,000. We're all non-union AFAIK. I interned for one of the big auto makers for two summers. That's all it took to know I didn't want to work there for the rest of my life. Almost got fired my first day on the job for picking up a bolt (safety hazard) in a walking aisle.
I have a good friend who worked for Ford for a while and has a bunch of family that still does. The stories I hear from them along with the ones we all hear on the news definitely make me think the Auto unions are the primary issue in why most ppl hate unions. I mean, they get by with some outlandish stuff. Some of it could land the normal non-union guy in jail.
Also, with the automation of the manufacturing process, it took skill out of many of the jobs from what I understand to the point that the "certain level of training" argument I made for the construction industry doesn't apply.
For example, one story I heard was that a guy at Ford had the responsibility of checking one screw/bolt/whatevs on one certain part of the door of cars to make sure it was fully tightened. How did he do this? With a device that measures torque? Nope. with his thumbnail. He went around and tried to slide his thumbnail behind the screw head and if he could, he had to call another guy over to tighten it. His thumbnail was worn all weird because of this repeated use too. this guy was getting paid in excess of $70k last I heard.
Also, a new one I heard this yr: there is a lift at Ford that takes the truck from one level of the conveyor down a level to another area. The lift can be manipulated so that it moves before the vehicle is fully placed on it by the conveyor. A certain guy was significantly lowering the lift so that when the truck came off the line, it would fall like 5-6 feet to the lift. Ford's protocol is to shut the entire portion of the line down for the shift to investigate for safety reasons. Boom! paid shift off since the union negotiated it that way.
That all said, I am all for someone negotiating for as much as they can get.