Just a couple of things...
Eagle21 - You say we have 14000 cabin crew. That is more or less correct. However, we don't have 14000 full time cc. 38% of ww crew are part time, 40 something % of ef crew are part time and a large group of part time contracts at SFLGW. So, even though the head count is 14000, we don't need that amount of crew to operate.
There are possibilities of "fast track" training for experienced crew (like the exGB crew who came over). Also, there is the availability of operating flights with fewer crew members than in the t&c's, "due to operational requirements", which the company can throw in if a strike should happen.
Also, I think some unions (no names mentioned) and their members scream STRIKE! at the drop of a hat sometimes. What happened to good old negotiations? Instead of going to meetings with arms folded and "we're not doing this/that/the other" attitude and thinking strike if they don't get what they want, they should go to meetings with a fairly open mind and be willing to DISCUSS and negotiate with management. That is traditionally (in the real world) how problems are solved.
I'm getting tired of reading about what Ayling did, what happened in 92,97, last year and so on. That is all in the past, we need to look to the future.
Before I get my head virtually kicked in (as such), I'm not saying that I enjoy the Colombus issue one bit. I don't want my contract changed (not that it's worth much anyway), but I understand that with the fuel prices and the rise of the cost of living (fewer people able to fly for a start) the company must reduce costs somehow. Yes, management should take a hit too, no doubt about it, but they need to look at ALL departments. If they didn't, they would be even more stupid than most people think they are already.
We are easily replaced, as there are so many behind us in the queue. Yes, a lot of our crew are outstanding crew members who were born for the job and love it no matter how long they've been in the company (myself included), but there is unfortunately a too high a number of crew who are "trapped" in the job (as no other job in the outside world would pay that amount of money for the lifestyle), they're miserable, don't trust management and don't provide good/great service to our customers. Those are the crew who give us a bad name, and we need to get rid of those. Sounds harsh, maybe, but that's how I feel. (This also applies for other departments, just to keep that clear).
Gg