No matter how interested individual employees might be, or what assistance a manufacturer offers, or how insistent a certificating authority might be — none of these factors will have a significant effect on safety without support from top management.
Howling...
Air Log is union...still is...and from all indications is going to remain so.
PHI is union...CBA under negotiation for two years now...fight coming.
ERA is non-union but rumours are efforts being made to organize them exist.
Air Methods....large EMS operator is now union...CBA being negotiated....fight coming.
Fort Rucker Instructor pilots are union now....
The GOM unions are now participating with IALPA and have gotten active in the safety committee there.
PHPA is beginning to grow and is getting active in the safety field by representing "pilots" on the committees.
A bit of searching and you can find press releases and magazine articles on the web that discuss some of the latest safety initiatives that industry groups in the USA and Canada are developing. Meetings including operators, the FAA, NTSB, Oil Company Safety Reps, and others are beginning to become more frequent and involved in improving safety.
The latest issue of Autorotate Magazine reports the outcome of the American Helicopter Society International Safety Seminar in Montreal back in September. Other trade journals have articles about that and other meetings.