Really? Is that why my friends at xjt that have called their reps have said the same thing? They may want to fight it but even they know it's going to be very very hard. Skywest did it the legal way and it doesn't matter how ethical it was or is just that it was legal.
I've worked for a union airline and a non-union airline. I know it's easy to get into the mentality of "we don't need a union because management will treat us right." Trust me, I've been there. I even fell for it for a while.
It's great until the company chops up your line values to save money. They don't drop your pay rate (that would technically be a pay cut!), but with lines that don't pay a cent over min guarantee you might as well have lost 1/4 of your hourly rate. That didn't happen at my union carrier; the union had a say in how the lines were constructed.
Let's say that while you're taxiing out at your non-union carrier, you've got your head down in the FMS and the captain accidentally runs over a taxiway light. With a union in place, you immediately call the union's emergency hotline and get reps and lawyers on your side before you even set foot in the Chief Pilot's office. With a non-union carrier, you can simply be called in and lose your job on the spot (and I've seen it happen...just like that).
Non-union carriers often have an "up or out" policy with regard to upgrades. I know SkyWest has this policy. If you have a bad day in the sim during your upgrade checkride
and the checkairman doesn't recommend you for another shot, you're terminated. That's it. That actually did happen to a poster on another website. Union contracts will allow you to keep your position in the right seat.
I could continue, but I think you get the point. It's naive to believe that management will always "look out for you"; in reality, they won't. They're looking after profits, and won't bat an eye if they feel the need to get rid of you or cut your pay. I've seen it happen, and it'll happen again.
