Not all unions are the same. The local's members I represented were basically freelance. What the local's contracts offered was a minimum salary, benefits retirement and health and working conditions. If the employee wanted to negotiate on their own for a hirer salary it was something they had the right to do. If the employer did not want to pay their rate and the employer did not have another worker to do the project, the union was obligated to supply someone that was capable of doing the job. The local also gave classes to keep the members up to date on what would make them more in demand and whatever new safety measures had to be adhered to. Again, any contract that forces employers to keep employees employed when they're not doing the agreed assignment is not the fault of the union, but that of the employer's negotiator
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