Hi Gary T, you asked "have you ever heard a folk song (or any song) that speaks of the negative aspects of trade unions? " Yup, here you go.

"UNION WORKER, UNION BOSS"
Tune; King Cotton, Traditional
Words by Barry Finn

Who'll protect you from the Union
Who'll protect you from the boss
who will care for your wages
Who will see that your job's not lost

Will you walk the line when the agent says picket
Will you fight with scabs and carry signs
Will you share in the payoff to end the protest
Will you close your eyes to the sight of crime

Where do you stand on graft and corruption
When the shop steward's a thug tell me how do you feel
When you can't find work if you can't do favors
Where will you turn to find your next meal

Does your voice start to freeze in the face of extortion
Does embezzlement seem like a white collar crime
When do you sweat from your organized labor
Do you fear that you feel like it's organized crime

Now it's the boss and the laborer who fear the Unions
One gives their blood and one gives their bone
A job begged for mercy now it cries murder
Will you be fit to work when the job's all done

I don't apoligize for my view or my song, all the events here I watched & fought & was beaten & kept from my trade & then was put on a hit list (the modern version of blacklisting only more perment). Just thought I'd toss in a view from the other side of the coin, nothing is all right or all wrong hopefully we do what we can to better the world we live in for others & luckly many of us here do what we can with what we have.

Bert, thanks for the very kind mention, I hold your views on the subject of songwriting as being dear. Barry