I hear you, a lot of the military pilots in JB receive retirement and medical from government, so for them life is good in blue, furloughs - some of them, not all, are bitter because their dream job was taken away and they are ****ed off on ALPA.
Majority of my classmates are in support of CBA, but there are few, that still don't get it. For them flying A320 is dreams came true, 13% 401K (even though is only 5% guarantee) is better then 4% at 75 cents on a 1$ or none.
Note the LIFT program, what you think is happening? Remember the question on merit based pay? They are doing it, pretty soon they will point out how many LIFT recognitions you have for your pay or benefits. People participate in this silly program without realizing the true intent. This works like medals in the military, it is a worthless piece of shiny metal, but you are proud to display it and it will help you in promotions. My true hero pilots are those, who flew safely for 30+ years and retired without ever being in the news.