I understand the thought that you need to take what you can get now rather than hold out for an eternity for a stellar contract. There are examples where pilot groups held out too long, as well. Having these thoughts might make a person more open to the idea of taking what they can get immediately.
I think in this case it's hard to ignore the fact that ATSG pit one group of pilots against another and got ATI to accept less than what they're worth. Going back into some of the older threads you can see references to narrow-body flying being awarded and threats of furloughs at ABX. To me it seems like this was a successful campaign to intimidate the ATI pilot group into accepting some pretty low wages to fly heavy jets. People retroactively look at this like a strategic decision to get an even better contract in the future. I'm not sure I buy this. The industry as a whole gets new contracts and makes concessions as macroeconomics change globally.
So as Delta, UPS or whatever company ratify new contracts, the order of desirability by company changes but not appreciably. Generally the companies at the top stay at the top and the companies at the bottom stay at the bottom. This usually changes only when large companies get absorbed or go out of business.
When we look at examples that have made that rare leap from bottom-feeder to good prospect, the examples I can think of all include radical leaps in compensation. Kalitta is a recent example of this. FedEx was a terrible job in the early years and smart pilots avoided working there. That all changed very, very rapidly. So the idea that it's strategically necessary to take what's easily available to improve your position in the future doesn't hold water.
ATI's new contract was sold as a way to facilitate growth. That growth in e-commerce was going to happen regardless. There simply weren't enough airplanes, pilots and operators to meet the transport demand of Amazon Air. Had you held out for more compensation, you'd still be getting airplanes and routes, or your new pilots would be at ABX, with remaining ATI pilots seeing ABX rates or higher.
Ultimately, ATI's decision was ATI's decision. I'm not aboard with giving these guys trouble. I don't think that accomplishes anything meaningful and makes the workplace more stressful. As pilots we promote and organize more or less as kids do in a highschool lunchroom. We move impulsively, and we superimpose a veneer of rationality onto our truly impulsive and emotional decisions. I think all of us (this includes me personally) suffer from this to varying degrees. The solution is to acknowledge this and correct for it.
Decisions are algorithms we all apply using the information available to us. ATSG management won the information campaign. 1224 struggles with this. In fact, the information campaign often is won or lost on the effors of just a few individuals who may or may not hold significant office.