Hemssafety,
"the strikers will be able to go out and get another job fairly easily".
It's not that easy to get a job elsewhere (free lance work excluded) if you're still on strike at PHI. You would have to convince your new employer that you're going to stay awhile. Like with a resignation letter from PHI. Which brings up another point: Presumably you could remain a supporter of local 108 but you could not be a member anymore if you quit PHI. It is possible that the dwindling ranks of local 108 are due in part to this phenomenon.
"The ones I feel sorry for are those that are going to have to live with PHI if they manage to break the union because the honeymoon will only last so long then the ugly marriage will begin as the company struts about in their presumed victory!"
There is a common fear amongst union members that PHI will return to the dark old days of the Suggs's if the union doesn't score a victory. That wages and benefits will be slashed and people could be fired for looking at an area manager the wrong way. But let's be sensible. PHI will have to compete with other companies to attract and retain pilots from a limited pool of prospects. It stands to reason that they will continue to try and make it an appealing place to work. I mean c'mon, it's 2006. I know it's Louisiana but it's not exactly a plantation we're talking about here.