On the Medical Insurance . . You didn't have much say about it . . your employer and your Union settled on a (not necessarily the best) blanket insurance policy that the rank and File would not necessarily like, but accept. That's how Group tends to work out . .
And Wayyy back in th' day, unions had a place. How they arrived at their agreements (and sometimes, Disagreements) with their employers often was debatable . . And the benefits sometimes were dubious . . But in the areas of health and safety, they were hugely beneficial, not just to the unionized worker but in setting an example for the rest of industry (and Construction) to follow . .
Problem is, it would seem that the union has outlived it's usefulness because in order to maintain a paying membership, the union must provide more "Fluff" for the workers, which in turn, the employers cannot well afford in the business climate of the last 20 years or so . . And yet cannot offer either a good health insurance or retirement plan that doesn't require either government subsidy or full government participation . . For the price, both the rank and file and the American Taxpayers are getting ripped off by those Unions and their high buck executives . .