In a company with union membership of around 95% of the target workgroup, a ballot return of 94%, with 97% of those returns voting for industrial action, is extremely significant. As the 'union' within the company consists solely of the company's active-duty pilots, I don't think there is any way that this can be said to have been orchestrated by a union hell bent on company destruction - I'm sure that's the last thing these pilots want. Couple this with the reported internal survey result of just 6% satisfaction with the way the flight operations department is run, and it seems pretty clear that the bones of this dispute is not about pay - it's more likely about respect, communication and leadership. Or rather, the lack of those things. A union can't call a dispute on multiple topics, especially such ephemeral topics as these, so the very extended negotiations about pay have to serve as the stalking horse in the hope that the settlement will address all the issues at stake.
SRB's letter seems to ignore the underlying issues here, and was released to the press (I believe before it was released to the pilots) - yet the pilots do not have the right of reply in the press, though of course the union does.
Such disaffection is a major issue which should concern all at Virgin, and I sincerely hope it can be addressed before the whole house of cards falls down.