To extend Geofferson's thoughts, if I were an oil company customer, I would bend over backwards to break the strike, since I will pay whatever bills the extra wages raise. It stands to reason that the oil companies will take the pressure off PHI if at all possible, and play a waiting game to see how much the guys on the street can stand.
Pity, I am not sure what the UNion could have done different, they waited 2 1/2 years to do something as it was. It seems that PHI had no intention of settling things, they were just playing a waiting game all along.