Originally Posted by LoudFastRules

In an ideal world, your theory would be correct. However look at Virgin America and JetBlue. Both companies made a big deal about how good it was to treat employees properly and how unions weren't required at "good" companies. Both airlines recently voted in ALPA by large majorities.

In your example of the pilots who called in sick, they would all be fired. Over and done, with no union to fight for them and get them back to work with back pay.

All airlines need unions. The IBT sucks. ALPA sucks. I'm sure plenty of the in-house unions suck too. Guess what, the airline management groups suck more. The unions' suckiness is still significantly better than having no union at all. Despite their many flaws, unions are an absolute necessity in the airline world, especially when safety is a concern.