Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but whether you're in a union (I agree, they're lazy motherfuckers) or not, people will chastise you for working faster then is maximally profitable to them. It's the first rule of economics, I believe.
I didn't say faster, I said harder. And as I said, I don't know the first thing about economics. I fail to see how working harder would lessen maximal profitability or whatever it is called, anyone care to explain it?
For instance. I work with this guy... I clean shit, he removes it, if he doesn't remove it, I get backed up and can't do anything. So, we'll be working hard all shift and as soon as it starts to get busy and really pick up, he wanders off somewhere and then comes back slowly, in a maximally profitable manner for him. He's not in a hurry to get the work done and leave, because that means less money for him. He's perfectly willing to be a complete asshole and abandon me when things start to pick up, just so he can dictate the amount of time he spends working to complete the job.