Unions are the only way to effectively check the power of management.

And if you think management and their bought-and-paid-for toadies in government and corporate board rooms give a damn about you...think again.

...without talking about the corruption of the Banks and Corporate America, which have been in full display and have done untold damage to our economy and our governance.

Whatever corruption the unions are a party to, pales in comparison to Big Money.

But if we don't fix the worse ones things will keep getting harder for the better ones.

IBEW 494 here.

and some Fortune 500 companies are corrupt. Some public officials are corrupt. Some people are corrupt. So what (not responding to you personally just to the wingnuts whom think that that's reason enough to attack unions)?

but they are the only thing the workers have. He belonged to one in the 70s when he worked in a small factory in the midwest. So much of that industry has moved overseas now.

Strong Workers = Strong Middle Class.

All of America's workers have benefited from the struggles of early union organizers and members. The 8 hour day, the 40 hour week, paid vacations are now the norm for all of America's workers.
They were earned by the blood, and even the death of Union people.

I am retired but still pay union dues as I believe in the union cause and try to live the union way.

How is that a valid talking point that any union right now is corrupt? I've been in the Teamsters, CWA, SEIU and am currently a member of the AFGE. Never personally witnessed or even heard of corruption on a local level. Sometimes I felt under represented on a national level. But when the time came to ratify a contract I never felt misrepresented.