[brynx97]

Not all public unions are the same, I would discourage generalization. Federal public unions are very different from local and state public unions.

My wife's public union in a federal agency is a great tool for them to leverage when dealing with exceptional issues outside the normal channels and processes. Federal bureaucracy can be slow, and it can also be impractical when dealing with various things. As mentioned elsewhere in the thread and the article, a federal public union and their members can't strike, and they generally cannot directly negotiate increased pay since it is congressionally controlled.