Throwing in my .02 worth and of course having been on many a flights with employee class in full force. I agree that the majority of flying employees would not knowingly want to take a FC seat from a deserving passengers. I know that the employees who do fly in FC act professionally. But as with anything it is the 10-20% bad employees that stand out and not the 80-90% hard working ones (whom I appreciate every time they bend over backwards to make my flying seamless and as pleasureable as it can be).

Addressing the protection of C revenue, I agree but only to an extent. I think to every VFF the issue is the decision available to UA at the gate. 5 FC seats open
and what is the choice? 5 UA employees in FC or 5 VFF in FC and 5 employees in C (still nice, still a perk, still not coach, and 5 VFF's feeling appreciated for their dedication to the airline)