andrews:
Nice words and thoughts, but the real world is, alas, different.
I do recall, though, that there was once a very bitter airline industry dispute in Australia (well before the internet came within reach of the everyday bloke) and I would venture the guess that if PPRuNe had been around then, the invective and vitriol would have perhaps been even more severe than what you read in the Fragrant Harbour forum.
A more recent event in Australia was the MUA dispute (ca. 1998) and the scenes shown on TV were rather ugly, with MUA members (now that is one heck of a privileged lot) verbally and physically attacking self-employed truckies trying to earn a crust.
The more you think about it, the more you realize that the concept of unions is something that should have gone out with the last century.