A major problem in Unions is that cronyism is even good'ole'boy'er than the general US population's. My only touting of "join a union" is for would-be apprentices to "learn the ropes" about construction. Get paid to learn; retire elsewhere... [†]
They no longer allow this (at least not in 520), but I soon realized the best "life balance approach" to being IBEW was: enter in their non-traditional student pathway (i.e: olderfolk, CW/CE) and then never progress beyond 90%er [•] – to me, the extra 10% pay wasn't worth all the headache of working with management to coordinate jobsite goals. Many "ninety-percenters" remain, grandfathered (but slowly retiring).
[†] LU520's payscale isn't among "the best;" if you're in an area where your ticket-out is $70+/hr, then retiring IBEW probably makes sense...
[•] with Mad Respect for my boy Johnboy; hope you're retired by now!