Great feedback! ^ Please keep it coming!
I have been trying to relate my recent career challenges to those now being experienced by NW mechanics. I wanted to establish my empathy for them, given that a position that I held for almost 6 years was slated to be shipped off to India in the fall of 2003. There was little or nothing I could do about that, but I could (and did) take proactive measures to manage my own career.
I think the NW mechanics should do the same. They should knock off all of the flight delay strong arming tactics and make sure that their skills are good enough to be retained by NW to do the work, or to perhaps help manage the new vendors in Singapore and other areas who will be taking over most of the major engine repair work. That would be a sign that they recognize the world has changed around them and they elected to take the high road.
-Alan