Wunwing,
I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiments of PW1830 above, as do I agree with most of what you have said on this thread except:
The QF FEs never wanted an FE on the B767 and it was a major reason for their split from the AAFEA to AIFEA (and ultimately to AIPA) at the time of the B767 arrival.
You are one cycle out and therefore incorrect on this particular point.
The QF F/Es under
PR as Pres fought hard to get an FE on the QF B767s. You may recall QF agreed to send a team to the US to observe 2 pilot ops on those US carriers who had B767s. Naturally their report was scathing of what they saw and the AAFEA continued to fight for FEs on QF B767s. AIPA, under BJR, did not support the AAFEA position and the end result was that CEO Ron Yates agreed to 5N (which for non QF people was a guarantee of a job as an FE for the working life of existing FEs notwithstanding there may well be a day where there were no QF aircraft with FE stations on the flightdeck).
The next cycle was the B747-400.
By that time there had been a palace revolution within AAFEA and DH was the Pres who took QF FEs into AIPA. There was no campaign for FEs on B744s but instead under DH the QF FE retraining to pilot program was negotiated for those who survived the selection process. A seniority position on the QF pilots' seniority list for all current FEs was also part of the deal.