Daze - very good explanation of the RLA.

Lets sum up the UA machinists position. They have been on a wage FREEZE since 1990 and now earn upto 30% LESS than the industry average. They were engaged in good faith discussions for wage increases since last year, but then the pilots jumped ahead of them using tactics that were questionable. Now, with the pilot salaries having reached the stratosphere and with ALPA unwilling to even DISCUSS cutting those salaries, the IAM is being asked to bend over and take another one for the team.

I'm sorry, but I'm all with the machinists here. The threat of a strike will also give management the leverage they need to deal with ALPA.