When I first started to play in bands, I joined the Trenton, NJ Musician's Union, and also because I worked in sales and teaching at an established Hammond dealer.(politics) It was useless ..I could see it as a benefit for horn players or string players, but not for a keyboard player (work was plentiful and you did not have to be union).

The best story I have to tell...In my early construction business, I sub contracted from a local contractor (friend)..He was a no nonsense Italian fella

Frank was doing a hot roof in Philly, and I was doing some aluminum work for him..
A union guy climbed up a 40 foot ladder to confront Frank. This guy was a typical enforcer.. When the guy neared close to the top of the ladder, Frank pushed the ladder out with the guy in panic. He gave him the choice to climb down the ladder and don't come back, or he was going to dump his butt

The irony of the story, 20 years later, Frank fell from a ladder, and it led to his death..