I'm with the engineers all the way but I'm not sure they all are. LAX is a rapidly growing maintence base. There are over 100 engineers and are in the process of hiring 40 more. They have Sydney based union lames and strike-breakers, local non-union, contract and sub contracted engineers all working toghether. Everyone is trying their best, especially the Syd lames, to get the planes out on time and rectifying as many MEL's and hold items as possible. They feel whatever they don't fix there, they'll fix here. There's no shortage of cheap labour here. There's no support of the industrial action. Everyone is doing what ever it takes to increase to work in LAX. If the Australian engineers don't watch out, they'll start losing their jobs to the cheap labour in LAX.
If my memory serves me correctly the QF LAME's in LAX were told to stay there by the union in order to have some sort of control over the work done there.. So I'm not so sure they're there of their own volition..
Likewise if the union said that they should come home then I guess they would.
As far as us here in Oz losing our jobs to cheap labour in LAX... I couldn't give a damn! The company have been holding threats like this over our heads for far too long. Should they finally make that decision, then sooner or later the reality of yet another mismanagement decision will turn around and bite them hard.. And the chorus echoing "I told you so!" will ring deafeningly loud in their ears..