personally I'll always try and let ATC know we may have a problem whilst there are still options to "sideline" us.
And yes, management certainly do know - please don't (always) blame the Flight Crew, give us the tools and all that...
In this case, whenever the Captain does NOT alert ATC and 'go to the sidelines', it IS the crew's fault!
You already know there is a systemic problem; so failure to anticipate a common repeat problem and take reasonable action to avoid delaying other flights, is a personal failure.