Underdog,
Your statement <The membership IS the union and unless enough people join, then of course nothing will happen and people will continue to get shafted by their employers.>
Very true, and I wouldn't dream of acting any differently on the flight deck to a non union colleague; the peeps behind pay for a professional job done as well as it can be.
I do however attempt to discuss the matter over a few "channel 4's" in the hope that my colleague will understand that joining the union and then showing a face of unity might give him/her the chance of retiring on a pension that I will enjoy.
I have found that most agree and join (1% of not a lot is not a lot) but a small percentage obviously want to die poor!
Regards
Exeng