Guvnor,
As 'hands-on groundstaff' I find your 'part of a team' comments laudable and agree to most of your points, however I realise that the only groups that can really cause major problems are both Flight, Cabin Crew and to a lesser extent the Engineers. This view is widely acknowledged throughout the Airline, but makes groundstaff feel vulnerable. It would be great to be treated as equals when it comes to pay awards or benefits etc etc, but I'm realistic and accept that it'll never be. The first casualty from any conflict is the truth, the next piece of collateral shrapnel normally takes out the helpless groundstaff.