&gt; Can&#x27;t unions negotiate for fair wages while also throwing the bad apples to the wolves?<p>No, not really.  Its the nature of the beast that unions need to protect all their member.  A noble goal with a noble origin, but it gets pretty perverted in the extreme its been taken to.  For example, school union members that are no longer allowed to teach students but cannot be fired (search on cases in both LA and NYC).  You would think rationality would prevail but then you run into the other problem.<p>Union membership totals determine power.  More members, more money to lobby, which gives you more influence.  There is a reason the California Correctional Peace Officers Association continues to advocate for laws that will put more people in jail.<p>At this point, for government workers, we as a country would be much better off without government worker&#x27;s unions.