This is a tough one for a lot of reasons.
Leave out who crossed who's picket lines (the mechanics didn't honor the pilot's line in 98) in the past and just think about the present going forward.
AMFA is trying to squeeze the company... but not too hard or it will shut down. If the pilots honor the picket line its pretty much strait to armegeddon, northwest liquidates, end of story. On the other hand if the pilots keep the operation going somewhat but use their pens in a proper manner and don't cut any corners, then the pressure will build over a week or two the company to negiotiate in better faith with the mechanics.
From the pilots point of view, they have been carrying most of the freight on the union pressures. "If the pilots go with us, we shut the company down". Well, that may be true and it has a lot to do with people who clean aircraft making 40k, but how does it benefit the pilots in the long term? The Pie isn't unlimited anymore.
This isn't a case of a company making huge profits and just being stubborn (as Northwest was notorious for). This is a hurting company and a hurting union just trying to move the cut line around somewhat. Its also a case of the mechanics laying in bed with the unskilled which is a tough thing to do, it hurts the mechanics a lot, while helping the unskilled somewhat.
So traditional views of UNIONISM probably don't apply here. This isn't the original National Airlines under Bud Maytag who just liked the scrap with his unions....
Cheers
Wino