Earl i could not agree with You more.As for Unions(and I can only talk about engineering here)The "Fish head" engineers definately DO have a union and in fact they threatend to go on strike whilst I was in Madrid and did in fact pack in and go back to EB2 only for their demands to be met poste-haste and a resumption of work to take place,I cannot entirely remember what it was all about but obviously pay and conditions were the main factor.Not long after that We were issued contracts which was a first!
I just remembered that when the contracts were actually issued I was in charge of a shift and had to go through the contracts of the guys i was responsible for with the base accountant,well you can imagine My astonishment when I saw that 1 of the MECHANICS I was supervising was being paid $1500 P.M. more than Me,this Guy never even had a mechanics license(which under the Company exposition He had to have)or any responsibilty this is the first time i have mentioned it however to be honest it never really bothered me as when I joined they made Me an offer which I felt(at the time) was ok.
All the best
matkat