As I posted on the pilot thread in regards to the same question there:
The "red" that you are referring to is not ON their badge, but merely an addition to the badge backer they've been wearing for months with their actual badge. So, technically they aren't altering their badges. Other than that, I can't answer your post as to why, I venture to say someone from the west will show up here with an answer, then someone that supports USAPA will rebut, nasty posts will ensue then the moderator will show up remind everyone to be "nice" or they can go spend some time in the cornfield. I honestly believe we can guess the answer, why start a war of nasty posts over it, because we all know that is where this is probably headed....and fast.
By the by, the red badge backer just says "cactus". There are plenty of folks that wear lanyards (NOT referring to the the yellow ones so don't think I'm pointing fingers it's just an easy example) that say things other than US Airways, I've seen a whole range of them, anywhere from airline names foreign and domestic that are in no way affiliated with us to brand names of vehicles, to sports team names, you name it.