having had some experience as a steward comittee member etc in the iam i can tell you that A:yes you do need a union& B: you are the union! the members are the deciding factor in any union situation if you need to strike,negotiate or just talk about a problem unionized workers have a step that non union folks dont-i gaurantee that the many times i`ve stepped into an office to confront a supervisor about blatant harrassment-that in a non union shop that man or woman would be gone if the union wasnt there to document,observe&mediate the problem-on the other hand unfortunately there are problems with some union officials toobut being a democratic not autocratic process that is easier to take care of-VOTE EM OUT!! i hope this helps&i hope i havnet wandered on to much-thanks