I left my union trade after many, many years of back breaking hard labor & have the weak feet & bad back to show for my troubles. There looms another hidden monster that doesn't get seen or talked about & this monster is why my cousin & I left the union our Uncles started. Corruption. I had found that I was walking picket lines only to get non union companies to give pay offs to union officials, my cousin uncovered embeezzlement & he was beaten senseless & I was assaulted & we were both locked out of jobs until finally the union board spoke in our favor, to little, to late (still no let up). When we continued to speak we found that we had both had been considered for unmaked graves. The business agent & president both ended in prison under the Rico Act & were barred from elected positions ( they did try to come back from behind the scenes but were considered liabilities. This was very common in the east coast construction unions. Back around the same time our Philly local was losing men left & right over the edges of roofs. Our New York local was not to be mentioned in tones above whispers. When the mob chisled their way into controling the unions starting in the 30's it was a partnership that couldn't be beaten & in many of the construction unions that marriage has never been broken. I'm still envolved in the same trade & I still see how these unions operate & I wouldn't cross the road & walk the same side of the same side of the road that they occupy. Barry who's a union survivor.