Perhaps it is in your OWN experience that the "bad old days never went away". I work a lot on the Upper Deck and I have almost always enjoyed a good relationship with the flight crew - of course there are a few bad apples, but aren't there everywhere? I try not to take it personally and tar the entire flight crew community with the same brush. Some people bring their own little issues to work, so one tries not to take the bait...
I must say: it is the first time I have come across the purported LGW training methods. As I have no first-hand knowledge, I can only assume that it is either part of the rumour mill or an isolated case (perhaps ANOTHER person with an axe to grind?). If those allegations were even slightly true, I think that's all pretty sad really. Of course we are told on our training courses what is and is not allowed on the flight deck and where the flight crew catering can be located, but a little rule-breaking and goodwill go a long way. I treat others as I would hope they would treat me. Apart from a few exceptions, I treat the flight crew with respect, kindness and humour and it is reciprocated.
I confess I am ignorant, too, of the accusations of BASSA's behaviour that you mention. It does seem wholly reasonable to me, with regard to the bus and the car park, that majority rule would dictate that 11/15 people should be catered for before the remaining 2.
And I imagine that it would be fair to ask that a CSD also be upgraded should the flight crew get upgrades. Crikey, BAPLA negotiated better seats for flight crew when positioning than their cabin crew colleagues get - so give us something, won't you?
And as for the BASSA/Pension meeting clash: BASSA was given a date for a meeting by the T&G. When it came to the Pensions meeting. BASSA informed the management that they could make any meeting apart from THAT day, so the management chose to hold it then, thereby forcing BASSA to choose between sorting out the ballot issue and the Pension issue.
And I am tired of hearing the same old drum being beaten: "What have you given up as cabin crew since Sept 11th?" "How have you saved the company any money". Now I know you think we are morons (and you are entitled to any opnion you choose), but you must think us REALLY soft in the head if you expect us to say, "Hell, yeah, please DO take back some of my money as I have SO much left over at the end of every month; please take some more crew off our aircraft so we can aspire to the heady heights of Aeroflot, please make me work until I am in a wheelchair and of course I'll make a bigger contribution to my pension to get less back when I am old (how much does cat food really cost anyway?). Because, like the present British goverment and taxation, I just KNOW that my cost-saving and money will be put to great use. How else can we employ yet more cabin crew "managers"? How else can we organise yet MORE useless courses to put crew on and take them away from their flying duties; and how else could we give our executives super-fat bonuses? How, indeed, are we to lure outsiders in with golden hellos and hefty pay-deals to allow them to attempt to drive this airline into the ground in their 2 or 3 year internship, before sending them off on their way with golden handshakes (but if they've been particularly naughty, let's put them on gardening leave!).
We have saved the company money in ways that are not entirely quantifiable: since Sept 11th, it has become part of our working practice to save the company money on every flight that we do. We are not ORDERED to, good sense dicates that we operate thus: I will use my own examples, but I know that it is the norm. It may take me longer and slow the service, but I only open wines as they are required; If only one passenger is drinking a certain wine on the Upper Deck, I run up and down those blasted stairs to share an opened bottle of wine with the main deck - the same goes for juices; I replace every piece of catering and round-trip it in order that salad dressings, raid the larder, etc, may be re-used either on the return sector, or on another flight; after all the passengers have disembarked, I go through all the seat backs to save the magazines, and washbags. Those stairs and baggage "slope" outside Compass are treacherous (don't laugh: YOU do it in heels!), but we grudgingly negotiate them when using the BA1 service (now that the Central Area bus service has been withdrawn) and during back-to-backs; I think you'll also find that with the airlines that pay their crew peanuts, many of them are on the fiddle: I have never had the "pleasure" of working for a charter company (yet?), but I have many colleagues who have, and who swear that it is the rule rather than the exception to cook the books on the selling of alcohol, and that they were used to seeing everything that wasn't nailed down disappear from the aircraft, something at BA, that would be unthinkable. Boy, was that a boring illustration! I think I nodded of half-way, so please excuse any spelling or grammatical mistakes (I, too, am jet-lagged).
So, let's get on with it. You concentrate on your pay and conditions and we will look after our own. We KNOW we are going to get shafted, but at least we are putting up as much of a fight as we can - if we didn't, YOU would be writing in 6 months time about how we "agreed" to the conditions and "signed up to them". The only reason we have the conditions we enjoy at LHR, is sheer numbers and a stubborn union.