There is a lesson in this sad state of affairs to all of us.
For years airline pilots in NA carried on that is did not matter what the company did - we are irreplaceable and I'm all right jack. I'm no Bob Crandall fan but he pointed out that at one stretch over three years what AA paid it's pilot's in "profit" sharing was equal to the companies earnings for that period.
When the employess say "screw the shareholders" - you have to say what goes around.......... I know one AA driver who used this "profit" share to but a time share at a ski resort - told me he figured it was found money.
As Herb said - look after the employees - they look after the customers - and they look after the shareholders. Goes all the way round - but the shareholders need to be taken care of as well. Funny thing was 2-3 years back the Southwest MEC suggested voting against the company offer. The pilots were not quite so stupid (or full of themselves) and accepted. They end up being the best paid pilots in the US. Poetic justice?