In states like Utah where there are right-to-work laws, union companies often have to work much faster and more efficiently than non-union in order to make up for their increased wages and benefits to be competitive. I work in construction and to put myself through college working for a large commercial mechanical contractor in Utah which was a union. Never have I been so hard than when I was there and it's because they have to move fast to be profitable.

Union companies in states without these laws are often just as you said, lazy and coddled. Because they have bullied their way into not having true competition in the marketplace they can fix the costs, production, and durations to milk way more money out of their work than would normally be possible. They also use threats of mob violence to keep legislators and owners from doing anything about it (see the Michigan riot of 2012 when armed union workers stormed the state capitol when they tried to pass right-to-work-laws). I've been on projects where they've hired non-union workers and the local unions will come and steal and break the non-union company's equipment and vehicles. One project, they union steel workers would sneak in at night and unbolt the non-union steel workers' steel connections. Not only slowing them down but putting all the workers on the job at risk.