I had a Software Engineering contract at Verizon around the time Fios was starting up. Verizon went through/is still going through the same thing. The compani

I had a Software Engineering contract at Verizon around the time Fios was starting up. Verizon went through/is still going through the same thing. The companies are a bit sketchy but the whole mismatch in workers is a real thing. They had lots and lots of unionized 55+ blue collar guys who couldn't even login to a computer and had near zero interest in learning. It always felt like the union was trying to fight for the status quo as opposed to trying to facilitate moving forward. So it gets to look real attractive to try and get them to retire early and hire some young guy since the job requirements have switched to needing lots of computer skills. The whole tax part.. that's just standard "Be as evil as possible." Given the whole "Be as evil as possible part" the union does become very necessary.