I work in education specifically, and I can tell you that there is no problem with not working hard enough in that industry.

I am aware that unions in principle is not inherently detrimental for business and I alluded to that in my earlier post. There are examples like yours that show how a union, when properly managed, can make it easier for it's members to do their job better.

Every one of us cares passionately about the kids, their families, and the quality of education those kids receive from us. In a time of greater sensitivity to mental and physical health, we even think about the potential long-term ramifications of our own behavior towards them, along with the quality of food they're eating, how much they're playing at recess, their posture, everything.

That's good to hear. However, the union jobs I am referring to do not typically fall into the trade of passion category. You had the luxury of finding a career in an industry that you care deeply for. You make the assumption that this is the norm, but your situation is the exception and not the rule. It's usually not a choice but necessity that make people take your traditional, blue collar union job. They work because they need to support their families not for some higher purpose. That is also a reality that you can not deny. So yes, even though people may not like to work with someone who is only there for a paycheck, many come to accept that fact.

in spite of the anecdotes you may have, I guarantee there are countless times you don't even notice them working diligently, simply because of human nature (we generally ignore things when they go as they should, and we are more likely to notice something getting marginally worse than we are to notice it getting marginally better).

And I can tell you that is rarely the case. Let me tell you where I'm coming from. I work in a manufacturing facility. I am not your typical pencil pusher putting unions down based on impressions from a few off chance encounters. Without going into specifics, I was an engineer by trade who had the opportunity to work directly with technicians on the manufacturing floor for several years as part of a lean six sigma bottom-up operation strategy. I literally performed their job functions on top of my engineering responsibilities. The questions I always get were along the lines of why are you working so hard or why are you taking the job so seriously? Sure there are individuals who were principled and gave their best effort but they are far too few. So when I say that many union workers are apathetic and lazy, it's a well informed judgement from personal experience.