NHBB, just what would you suggest they do? From your retirement chair in front of the computer, it is very easy to see things in black and white, and be outraged (though you don't exactly have a dog in this hunt), and advocate for resistance to management.
Ok. What do you suggest? Strike? Why don't you ask some of the
former NW mechanics how well that strategy worked for them in the past? In this economy, I don't think any of us whose parents spent our trust funds (

) can afford to do anything that will result in the loss of our jobs any sooner than necessary.
Unions do not have the power that they once had. The first time one union crossed another union's picket line, that power was lost. There is no union solidarity anymore. Just read some of the other threads. If the thread is about f/as, they get outraged if a pilot expresses a parallel concern and vice versa. If you work for a different airline, you are told to butt out, this is a private discussion (on a public Internet bulletin board

). And, there are too many people out of work or underemployed in this country. Any of us can be replaced in a heartbeat.
Barring some unforeseen event, this merger is probably going through because the money people support it. Now given that reality, the NW
and DL employees have to decide what is best for them
when the shoe drops, not before. Move to ATL, change jobs--we'll all have to wait and see.