I'm pretty sure that's not a win-win.

You don't have to be a paying player to have the rights to call the shots, you have the right to whenever you want regardless of your status. Don't go thinking that someone has any obligations to stay on your friend list or in your union just because they've been in it for a while.

A whale isn't going to carry you in ranking a union event, a really dedicated player with Thor whose willing to play an entire day of the game is.