Had I not experienced it directly (multiple times!), I would 100% think it was hyperbole.
My first 'real' job was flying around and recording conferences for a little shop. Chicago and Philly were by far the worst places to work. I was literally not allowed to plug my little hand held recorder into the wall without paying for a qualified union electrician to come in and oversee me.
Ignoring the over absurdity of it, on a personal level, how is it not completely embarrassing and demeaning for the electrician that gets called in? Is watching somebody plug in a cell phone charger fulfilling? I mean, I guess getting paid is getting paid, but damn, it just felt Kafkaesque every time. You take someone with talent and an actually useful trade, and then you make them watch other people plug things into wall sockets.
Its more the rip off prices for lighting and network service that piss me off
Plus, if you read more than one sentence of the parent post, you'll see it blames than just the media.
0 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windy_City_(nickname)#Politics
My point here is that unions have done plenty to make a bad name for themselves, blaming everything on the media is simplistic.