My other knock on the system (and I was in a union at one point) is that there is no real incentive to go beyond mediocrity. You can't really reward the ones that do a good job - the ones that are professional
Oh, please. Nearly my entire work life has been spent in non-union businesses. It is a TOTAL myth that the open shops are full of meritocracy. That is a very scarce exception to the rule. Merit is a distant second to being liked by the boss. Don't know if this applies in TSA, but once and for all stop spreading the BS that "if it weren't for that union, we could reward our stars".