Now all groups, regardless of how much I normally sympathize, lose my support when they strike; they lose more support when they "semi-strike" (work slowdowns, blue flu, stuff like that), if you're gonna strike have the balls to actually strike.
What happens if the gov't won't allow a strike? What happens if the statists of the world unite, and have the gov't outlaw strikes? That is what is happening in the airline industry, and what is at stake in this year's elections. The Pubbies have stated that they will outlaw strikes if they get the Senate. While the Pubbies will likely win, their efforts will be on the wrong side of the law of unintended consequences.
Slow downs, sick outs, and the blue flu are the only way around this, other than the atom bomb that many pilots have been talking about. Allow me to explain...
What would all the statist Pubbies do when the mother of all sickouts occurs when "binding arbitration" is the law of the land? When 5% of the pilots sick out on day one, 10% on day two, the news reports it and then the ball really gets rolling, until you have 60-70% of the airline pilots sitting at home collecting sick leave, you will have a mess on your hands.
Most of us have enough sick leave to stay away from work for 9-12 months before we miss a cent. Could you operate with less than 1/3 of the pilots at work? The airlines would shut down, and the country would be constipated.
Believe me, the majority of captains I fly with support the idea. My ex-USN buddies at other airlines report the very same.
Now what? Have the gov't "force" us back to work? How? Revoke our licenses for being "sick?" We all will get doctor notes, or start quoting the Federal Aviation Regs about how the pilot determines if he is sick, not the FAA or the company. Revoking the licenses would only compound the problem. Would the MIB show up in the middle of the night with bayonettes and have us fly at knife point? How long before Congress recinds the law? A week? Two weeks? Could you wait that long?
Then, you would have a union really show its muscle, and they will likely use it more often to get other things they like.
Sometimes, statism does not work. The gov't needs the people more than the people need the gov't.