Just an observation...you can probably omit the last sentence in your first post, converse. at this point, from what we all see and hear we can take it for granted that the people who claim to know what's 'best for the airline' (note: CLAIM to know what's best) are ALWAYS trying to break the unions!
Fair play to the Virgin guys. Hope they get what they deserve, it's a sad and slippery slope the industry is on at the moment.