I've no dog in the fight so to speak but ornithopter has pretty much nailed it.
Everyone talking about striking etc - I'd suggest you spend a few days talking with your age group who are not pilots.
Pilots remind me of nothing as much as professional athletes. A combination of skills, luck and mostly perserverance has gotten you to the "bigs". Your job isn't like the rest of us and your pay isn't either. Like most athletes you'd do it for free but thankfully some one pays you do what you've always wanted. Deep down inside there is that fear that someday someone is going to twig to how much was luck and your really aren't that special.
Get outside your little clique and you are going to find a really rude world out there. It's changed. Want to really scare yourself. Pick up a paper and see what you can get outside of flying with your current skills. A lot of people are in that situation. Try finding a job where being average on the annual evaluation gets you a guaranteed pay rise every year.
The biggest mistake you can make is not recognizing what’s happening out there. Work to get a reasonable deal for today’s world and you'll come out OK. The biggest thing you've got going for you is BA is making money. Screw with that and you'll screw yourself.
20driver
PS – You are not irreplaceable – don’t even think it.