I don't think you have met or know either of those gentlemen well enough, else you probably wouldn't have that opinion. It becomes a matter of the pilot group demonstrating that they will back them 100%, and the MEC being confident enough in line pilot support to let them use that hammer.

Ask an older Fedex pilot or read up on their history on how 40% of pilots having signed an FPA card affected their negotiating leverage and the effectiveness of their strike vote authorization.