I've avoided jumping into the CH11 discussions because, honestly, I enjoy the good old days of exchanging tips and experiences more. But this post hit a nerve because of a recent personal experience like UA but on a micro scale.
I was managing a manufacturing business with 250 employees represented by 4 unions. We had high energy, environmental, and labor costs at an old plant in New Jersey. Because the business inherited labor contracts from its previous parent company, worker wages were 30-40% higher than even other unionized plants in the area. We were facing new competition from a producer in Alabama with lower costs and no unions. For 4 years I shared the same monthly financial information (losses) with the employees as with our owners and tried to make modest changes in benefits and work rules. Even with no particular ill will or credibility issues, 3 of the 4 unions refused to make any concessions, the business was sold, the production moved off-shore, and the plant closed. It wasn't until I ran into several ex-employees at the unemployment office that they acknowledged any of the long-obvious realities.
No value judgements regarding unions, no direct applicability to UAL, but a personal testimony to how strong the group dynamics of denial can be.