Bob,
Unfortunately, you prove my point. The major US Airlines are all on the ropes now due to union greed and the ability of airlines to charge whatever they wanted in a tightly regulated market. It was the removal of Government airline ticket regulation that lead to the disaster now being felt by the majors. The fat salaries for pilots (1/4 million per year for a driver!!) and flight attendants is the biggest reason for their inability to reduce cost. Their bloated contracts are now being overturned by bankruptcy judges.
Otherwise, I agree with your post, and frankly support unions, including PHI Pilots!
But I also think the Euro-speak that says scabs "interfere" with a strike, and strikes "protect the job" are hogwash, and sound like "Workers of the world, Unite!", a favorite refrain of every commie organizer who never worked a day in his life.
Unions suck, management sucks, it is the balance of the two greedy actors that holds promise of sanity.